Full Metal Sekirei
by tomhunt98
Summary: What if Ed didn't go back to London? What if the Gate leads to a parallel reality? Ed has no idea what is in store for him! Currently rewriting and expanding chapters
1. Chapter 1: No Means No

Disclaimer

I do not own FMA, Sekirei, or any materials about it. If I did, then I would be at the Maggiano's Little Italy every night. All original characters are mine, so don't use without permission. All my stories are rated M. There are adult themes in this story. Your warning if you don't want to read them is now, so don't complain about it later.

All chapter comments will be at the end of the last chapter. If you have a question or comment, the answer or a response to it will be posted there. As always, all reviews are welcome. Please include as much detail as possible about things you like, dislike, things I did well, and things I need to improve on.

This disclaimer is the only one and it is right up front. Don't get mad if you skip over it, it's here for everyone to read. Now that the ugly business is out of the way…

Hope you enjoy.

~tomhunt98

**Chapter 1: No means No**

As Ed stands on a transmutation circle in the opera house, he prepares to bring Al back. He can't just let Al die, not after he is the cause of why they were in this situation to begin with. He draws a complex circle on his forearms, chest, and head.

"I don't know if this is going to work, but I have to try. For you…"

With that, he claps his hands, both flesh, and places them on himself. The huge circle he is standing in glows a bright blue. The light grows in intensity until the whole room is whites out.

**

* * *

**

His body slowly comes back to consciousness. He becomes aware of a throbbing pain in his head. He sits up and rubs his head. Only then does he realize that he is shirtless.

"Great, so the gate doesn't have a retail store in it. Infinite knowledge and it can't bring itself to care about a little modesty."

He takes a minute to take a quick survey of his body. His 5'4" frame was now closer to 5' 8". His blonde hair in his preferred pony tail was now down to the middle of his back.

Ed looks around, finding himself in an alleyway, he gets up and peeks around the corner. He is surprised to find himself in the middle of a Metropolitan area with billboards and signs written in a language he doesn't understand.

"Where am I? Last time I was in London, but where is this?"

He looks back toward the alley and sees a discarded shirt. He lifts it up and sees it is a lime green with yellow stripes across the front with long sleeves. It is full of holes and way too big for him, but a shirt is a shirt. He puts it on and instantly feels like a lime.

Just as he secures the wrist buttons, he hears a scream from behind him further into the alley. Without thinking, he charges down the alley look for the source of the sound. He reaches a cross alley and peeks into it, what he sees horrifies him.

He sees a man in a suit crouching before a woman being held to the ground on her stomach by two other women. The man has his hand under the defeated woman and looks like he is about to kiss her. However, she doesn't just give up.

She pulls back and as he moves in and head butts him. That gets her a foot in her back from both women. The man then slaps her across the face, and then tries again. The man says something, but Ed doesn't understand it. As he says more, he somehow begins to understand them.

"… too late…you've… thorn in my side… now it is time to repay your dues."

Now infuriated, Ed claps his hands together out of instinct and to his surprise, he arm transmutes into a blade. Noticing the blue light, one of the women speaks. "Master, we are being watched."

'Shit, now what? I could probably take them on, but there are three of them. But they don't know who they are dealing with.' Ed steps out and addresses them.

"What are you guys doing to that woman? How you leave this alley will be determined by your answer."

The man turns around and faced Ed. He is wearing a white suit, white dress shirt, and a black tie. "What rude manners. My name is Izumi Higa. This is Katsuragi and Oriha. Now, what is your business here? Move along and you will live to see another day."

"I don't think so. Let her go or you none of you will be able to walk out of here." To make his point, Ed claps his hands together and touches the wall. A blue light emanates and a pillar shoots out of the ground right at Higa.

As the pillar shoot toward Higa, Katsuragi meets the pillar head on. A huge dust cloud envelopes the alley as the two collide. As the Dust clears, Ed's eyes nearly pop out of his face in amazement.

The concrete pillar is gone, totally turned to dust. Right where they had collided, Ede sees Katsuragi standing and blowing the dust off her fist.

"What the hell? What are you?"

"I think a better question is what did you do? I've never seen a Sekirei do that. Now answer my questions and you may live," Higa says threateningly.

"Don't count me out now. Things are just getting interesting." Ed claps his hands and reforms his metal fist, grabs a pipe on the ground, and transforms it into a sword. "I've got nothing to lose, now let her go."

'From the way she got rid of the pillar, she must be pretty physically strong. She is also very fast. If she does come at me, it will be a head on assault. Easy enough to dodge.'

Katsuragi looks back at Higa, who gives her a nod. She then bull rushes Ed, but he guessed correctly as to her style. Side stepping her fist, then jumping to avoid her foot, he uses the hilt of the blade and brings it down on her head, effectively knocking her out.

He turns back to Higa to find a fire ball come at Oriha from above, who is still holding the woman on the ground down. She dodges the attack and steps back.

"You win this time, Homura. But next time you will not be so lucky." Higa grabs on to Oriha and Ed is amazed as she jumps up to the roof of the two story building next to them seemingly without any effort.

Ed notices a figure in black jump down into the alleyway. Ed brings up his sword and prepares to fight some more. He takes a step closer to the man when he stoops to check on the girl on the ground as she seems to have passed out.

"Put that away, we are not enemies." He says to Ed.

"Yeah, really? I don't what the hell you are, so why don't you start talking."

The man in black turns around takes a step forward. "You are quite unusual too, with your powers. I want to thank you for protecting this woman. I really hate people like that man. But she is passed out and we need to find a safe place to take her and to talk. Now, can we agree to get her to safety before we talk?"

Ed slightly lowers his sword and nods. "I still don't trust you. Do you have a place in mind?"

"Yeah, I do. It's not too far from here. If you carry her, I carry the one you knocked out. Deal?"

Ed had completely forgotten about Katsuragi and nods his agreement. Clapping his hands together, he returns the sword to its original shape and drops it.

"Lead the way."

* * *

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2: Izumo Inn

**Chapter 2: Izumo Inn**

As Ed carries the girl he defended, he starts thinking, which he often does too much of.

'What the hell are they? Why did they attack this girl? She looks like a normal girl, but then so did the others. So that must mean that she must be what they are. But what I don't know. Hopefully I won't have to beat the answers out of this guy. And what was that guy talking about. Sekirei. I don't even know what a Sekirei is!'

He is so deep in thought, that he doesn't even notice when Homura stops in front a large 2 story building with architectural style he has never seen before. He hadn't even noticed the sun go down.

"Inside. We will be safe here. Oh, by the way. My name is Homura, but here people call me Kagari. Please use that name too." Homura says to Ed.

"Ok, my name is Ed. Edward Elric. Why is this place safe? It doesn't look all that sturdy."

"It's safe because of the people or a particular person that lives here. Nobody will dare attack here. Not while she is living anyway."

"Who are you talking about?"

"Oh, I have said too much. Forget that last part. Anyways, let's go inside, my shoulder is getting sore." Kagari says in nervous "let's get off the topic voice."

Ed follows Homura/Kagari through the door, which slides sideways, not out like normal. The door is also made of something that closely resembles paper, but much tougher.

He closes the door behind him and follows suit and takes off his shoes, just like Kagari. After Kagari finishes, he takes the unconscious girl and lays her in the equivalent of a living room.

"Miya! I have brought home someone you might want to meet!" he calls.

A few seconds later, he sees a young, very beautiful woman with an unusual shade of purple hair come from the back of the house. She is wearing a floor length, deep blue… dress (that is the best term he can think of that even comes close to it).

"Oh, Kagari, it seems you made quite a few friends today. My my, you certainly are unusual. Where did you get those implants?" she asks Ed.

"Look, can I set her down somewhere? Then can I have some questions answered?" he asks kind of impatiently.

"My, someone is demanding!" Miya says, as a demon visage appearing behind her.

"Gah!" Ed jumps back, startled and almost drops the girl.

"Oh my, where are my manners. I'm Miya Asama, the owner of the Izumo Inn."

"My apologies. My name is Edward Elric. I'm a bit nervous of this whole situation. Where can I put her down?"

"You can put her down next to…" she looks in Kagari's direction.

"She is Katsuragi, one of Higa's. This man defended Hotaru from them long enough for me to scare them off. Oh, please show her your power." Kagari asks.

Ed sighs and puts Hotaru down and claps his hands and touches a wall. Out from the wall springs a model of Izumo Inn.

Miya stares in disbelief as Ed returns the wall to its previous state. Ed, quite tired from all the physical activity and carrying Hotaru several blocks, leans up against a wall and slides down it into a sitting position.

"I've seen some things in my day, but never something like that. Where did you learn an ability like that? Moreover, what is that ability?"

But no answer came. Ed is passed out up against the wall.

"Well, I guess answers will have to be saved for later. Will you put him in Minato's room? I don't think he will mind. I will move these two into my room for now."

"Of course Miya. Have a good night."

With a low bow and a kiss on Miya's hand, Kagari lifts Ed up bride style and takes him up the stairs into Minato's room. Luckily Minato is already asleep, so no explanations are necessary.

**

* * *

**

Ed wakes with a gut wrenching headache. Unable to do anything, he lays there for what seems like days before he hears a door slide open and then close. He opens his eyes to find a young woman with short, brown bangs and eyes that matches her hair standing over him.

"Minato-san, who is this?" she asks.

From beside Ed, he hears someone move and male about 5 years older than him sits up.

"Good morning Musubi-chan. What were you asking?" he asks groggily.

"Who is your friend?" she asks again politely.

He turns and sees Ed lying on a mat next to his. Surprised, he bounds up and is against the wall in less than a second. "I... I … I have no idea Musubi-chan. He wasn't here when I went to sleep."

"Could you keep it down some? I have a hurricane in my head." Ed raises his left hand presses in his eyes. Surprisingly, it helped.

"Oh, sorry. Maybe Miya-sama put him here."

Just as he said this, the door opens and Miya is standing in the doorway.

"My ears are burning. Were you talking about me? Oh, I see our guest has awakened. I hope you slept well. Oh, my. You don't look well, how are you feeling?" once she sees the look on Ed's face.

"I feel like my head is about to split open and used as a piñata."

"Oh, let me go and get you some medicine. Please stay here. Minato and Musubi, breakfast is ready."

With that, the three of them left the room and shut the door. Glad to have some peace and quiet, Ed closes his eyes and starts to nod off. Sometime later (about 10 minutes in real time) Ed wakes to see Miya sitting next to him on his left side.

"Here, drink this. This will help." She helps him sit up and hands him the mug. Ed thanks her and drinks the entire mug in just a few gulps. Instantly, his headache is gone and his head is now cloudless.

"Wow, I feel much better. Thanks again." Ed now gets a good look at her, now that he is not dead tired and his vision not blurry. She is wearing a, what looks to be, a white robe with a floor length blue skirt, along with a back cumber bun across her waist. Her hair is a shade of light violet and goes down to her lower back and little white ribbon. Her eyes are a shade darker than maroon. Ed is astounded by her sheer beauty.

Flustered, Ed stammers for something to say. "um…I… uh…thanks for letting me stay here. I don't have anywhere else to go. I don't even know where here is."

Miya looks at him with curious eyes. 'Doesn't know where here is? Just where is he from?'

"I'm sure you are hungry. Let's go downstairs and have breakfast, shall we?"

"Yeah, sure. I am pretty hungry."

Miya gets up and extends a hand to Ed. He takes it gingerly, not wanting to hurt her. However, looks can be deceiving. She pulls Ed up with surprising strength, not even a hint of losing balance. She leads Ed down the stairs to the kitchen where everyone had already finished eating.

* * *

End of Chapter 2


	3. Chapter 3: Explinations

**Chapter 3: Explanations**

When Ed and Miya get down to the kitchen everyone was gone and the food cold.

"I'm sorry. I'll heat up the food for you." She is about to grab the plates, when Ed stops her.

"No need. I'll do it." With that, he claps his hands and places them on the plates. A blue flash and the food is steaming.

Ed looks happy with his work and glances at Miya, only to find her mouth is open wide. 'She looks kinda cute like that', he thinks before he can help it.

"Miya. Miya." He places a hand on her shoulder and pushes slightly, forcing her out of her stooper.

"Oh my, I'm sorry. I just can't get my head around how you do these things." She sits at the table.

"I'll explain later. I'm more hungry than Ling" he says. 'Wait, who is Ling? Ling Yao. Oh, well. I'll figure it out later.'

Half an hour later, he is finished and thanks Miya for the meal. She leads him into the garden and they find a seat on a bench and Ed begins explaining.

"This ability I have isn't a power, it's a science. It's called Alchemy. It is the study of understanding a substance, breaking it down, and restructuring it as something else. This can be from heating up food to creating medicine, to building a house. Like with the wall yesterday. I understood the chemical composition of the wood, broke it down, and restructured it into a model of the Inn. The flash of light that is given off is a byproduct of the reaction. This reaction is called a transmutation."

"Where did you learn this ability? I've never heard of it here."

"I come from a country called Amestris. It is difficult to explain how I got here without going over your head, but I will try. There is a forbidden art in Alchemy. Human transmutation is a taboo, because Alchemy is based on a law called the Law of Equivalent Exchange. To put it simply, you cannot get more out of a reaction than you put in. Alchemists have not found anything that can come close to the value of a human soul. When someone attempts a human transmutation, this is the result."

Ed pulls off the long sleeve shirt, revealing his metallic limb. At the sight, Miya's eyes go wide and she puts her hands to her mouth in horror. Ed than rolls his pant leg up and shows her his metallic leg.

"This is what happens when someone tries to play God. My younger brother and I tried to bring back our mother. She died when we were only 7 and 8. Our bastard of a dad had left us years before and never even came back, even for her funeral. So we did what was forbidden. I ended up with metallic limbs and my brother lost his entire body. All in exchange for something that wasn't human, a futile attempt that cost us more that we ever thought possible."

"That's terrible. I had no idea something like that existed."

"To shorten the story, my brother and I set out to regain our original bodies back. We searched every method possible and we looked for 5 years. We finally got our hands on an object that would allow us to ignore that law and restore our bodies. But somebody else wanted the object to make herself immortal, well, extend her life. I ended up getting killed and Al, my brother, brought me back with this object. But when he used the object, he sacrificed himself to restore my body.

"However, I couldn't let him just die. It was my fault for forcing him into trying to get mom back and to just let him die wasn't acceptable. So, I offered my mind, body, and soul to the Gate of Truth in exchange for Al. I don't know if it worked, but I'm here now."

As Ed retells his story, Miya hears every bit of anguish, fear, loathing, and disgust. Every emotion came through clear as day. It was so raw and powerful, that she could read feel what her was feeling. She feels sorry for him and wants to help out, but there isn't anything she can do.

"Well, enough about me. Who were those people yesterday and what were they? No normal human can do those things."

Miya looks over at him then gets up from her seat and calls out. "Matsu, I know you're listening. Come out here please."

She turns back to Ed. "Matsu can explain this much better than I can, so I will let her do the talking. You may want to put back on your shirt. She is known as a little hentai around here."

A minute later an average height woman with flaming red hair and red eyes comes behind rimless glasses walks into the garden. "Yes Miya-tan. Where would you like me to start?"

"Start with who and what I encountered yesterday…please." asks Ed.

"Just remember what we talked about…" a demon appears behind Miya to emphasize her point.

"Ok ok. You're scary like that. To answer your question, Ed, they are Sekirei. There are 108 of Sekirei in the city, each with a certain power. I'm a Sekirei too. My power is telepathic data access. You met Musubi today. She is also a Sekirei. Her specialty is hand-to-hand combat and is very strong and very fast. Homura's is fire.

"Sekirei are not human technically, since we aren't from this planet. However, we share very similar DNA that allows us to bond with a compatible mate, known as an Ashikabi. We came from a very technologically advanced ship that crash landed on an island 20 years ago when Hiroto Minaka, a science student then, found the ship and formed a company called Mid Bio Informatics ,or MBI for short, off of the technology called overtechnology.

"Inside the ship was 108 life forms called Sekirei. 1 was a full adult, 8 were embryos, and 99 were fertilized eggs. The order that they were awakened determined their number. When released into the city, the Sekirei wander around and find their Ashikabi. A Sekirei and her/his Ashikabi are drawn by a connection. This links them emotionally and allows for a deeper bond and understanding with each other. They say a Sekirei and her/his Ashikabi are fated to be together.

"When a Sekirei finds her/his Ashikabi, that Sekirei is "winged". This is literal. Bright wings appear when mucus is swapped between them, usually a kiss. When a Sekirei is winged, they gain an enormous power boost and cannot be undone. This is a curse and a blessing. What you saw yesterday was an Ashikabi who tries to forcefully wing other Sekirei in order to strengthen his faction. An unwillingly winged Sekirei is nothing short of a slave. We are strongly encouraged to do what our Ashikabi's tell us because of our bond, even if that order is to kill or do horrible things. "

"Are you keeping up?" Matsu asks. Ed nods his head and she continues. "The main point of all this is called the Sekirei plan. A battle royal to the bitter end. We are promised that the last standing Sekirei will be able to spend eternity with the one we love most. We fight each other until there is only one left. That is the main purpose of this "plan". It is despicable. Everyone can be happy with their own Ashikabi, so why we have to fight each other is beyond me."

"Do you have to fight each other? Can't you just get away from it?" asks Ed.

"Well, to answer that, I have to answer another question first. You're in the city called Tokyo. It is the capital of an island country called Japan. Now back to your other question. No we can't leave. MBI has practically bought the city from the government and private owners and has blocked all ways out of the city with its private army. Ordinary citizens can come and go, but Sekirei and Ashikabi's cannot leave.

"There is a group called the Disciplinary Squad that does the bidding of MBI. Pretty much keeping us cooped in this city and keeping us in line. The members are all Sekirei. The current leader is #04 Karasuba with #105 Benitsubasa and #104 Haihane as members. They hunt down and pursue those who try to escape. There has only been one Sekirei and her Ashikabi to escape. That was with Minato and our help that they made it."

"So you helped them escape. Does that mean your Ashikabi is Minato?" Ed asks.

"Yes he is. An Ashikabi is not limited to one Sekirei. Minato has 5 Sekirei that he has winged. There is #02 (that's me), #03 Kazahana, #9 Tsukiumi, # 88 Musubi, and #108 Kusano or Ku-chan. At this point, all but 2 of the 108 Sekirei have either been winged or eliminated from the competition. Those two are Homura and Hotaru, the girl you saved yesterday."

Ed ponders this for a minute. "Wait, so do you have and Ashikabi Miya?"

Miya gives a little laughs and a demon visage appears behind her. "Now who told you about me?" she asks lightly, but with tremendous authority behind it.

Meanwhile Matsu is going nuts. "I didn't give anything away. I didn't even hint about you. I swear. I swear!" she is visibly shaking in terror.

Unnerved Ed quickly spouts out his answer. "Nobodytoldmeaboutit. thepeoplewholivehereto yourownpersonaldemon." Ed backs away from her, clearly frightened.

"What? Slow down."

Ed sighs. "I said that nobody told me. I figured it out."

"I have a condition of you staying here. You never tell anybody about who I am. Never. If you do…" The demon returns even bigger than before.

"I accept. I accept!" Ed by this point is in the corner of the garden and can't go back any further because Matsu is in the very corner behind him.

"Come back over here. My demon won't come out anymore, as long as you behave yourself."

Ed picks up whatever dignity and courage he has left and goes and sits back next to Miya.

"Nobody has figured out that I'm a Sekirei before. Only a few people know everything about me. To answer your question, I've never had an Ashikabi. My husband died a while back but since I'm not a normal Sekirei, I was never winged."

A profound sadness came across her face. 'I see. She must be regretting not being able to be winged by her husband. Not to be able to participate in this "Plan" of Minaka's.'

"Miya-tan, if that is all, I need to keep an eye on Mina-tan. Lord knows that trouble has his cell phone number." With that, Matsu gives Miya and Ed a quick bow and goes back into the Inn. Once gone, Ed looks back at Miya. The look of sadness has passed and she now is deep in thought.

"Hey, Miya. Would you mind telling me about your husband?" He asks her as gently as he can.

She pauses for a second before saying, "No, not today. Maybe later. Anyways tell me about you implants. They look very sophisticated."

"Well, it's called automail." Here, I will show you." Ed takes off his shirt again and tells her how to disconnect his arm and reattach it. Once it is removed he begins explaining.

"Automail are artificial limbs. Not just a fake limb. A replacement. See the base here across my shoulder and chest. These house the connectors that are connected to individual nerves. The machine reads and interprets these signals and moves the arm accordingly. There is a little delay, but not much. Having a metal arm and leg has been quite useful at times, but I would still have flesh limbs."

"This advanced mechanics must take years to learn. Who made your limbs?" she asks, holding his arm.

"Oh, my childhood friend Winry Rockbell made it. She is as old as me and is a mechanical genius. She custom made my…" He falls silent as the thoughts of his friend bring up painful feelings. Miya looks on at him and feels sad for him again. Having lost so much at such a young age she feel s his sadness as though they were emanating from him. Losing his parents, only brother, and possibly someone who could have been more than just a friend. He must feel incredibly lonely. She reconnects the arm. She feels bad about seeing the look on his face when she flips the switch.

By this time, the day had gone and it's almost time for lunch. "Oh, no. I completely forgot the time. Excuse me, but I must prepare lunch." With a short bow, she disappears into the Inn.

Ed decides to lie down and mull over the things he has just heard. He looks down at his lemon-lime shirt and decides to have a change of clothing. Clapping his hands, he places one on the ground, the other on his shirt. When he is done, he has a cotton, long sleeve, solid dark blue shirt. Since he didn't have all the materials in the shirt he needed, he used some of the elements in the ground to

A little later, a small girl with blond hair and emerald eyes come out and tells him that dinner is ready. Ed follows the girl into the house to the dinner table. He gets quite a shock when he does.

He finds Minato sitting on one of the sides with Musubi and now the girl on his other side. Across from him he sees three other women with huge boobs. Not just "Oh, look. Here I am" but "HEY, LOOK AT ME!" kind of boobs.

At one end of the table is Kagari sitting beside the woman with the biggest boobs of all (not by much, but still and impressive title). At the other end is Miya with an empty seat. Ed takes the hint and sits down next to Miya. Everybody looks over at him.

"What?" he asks.

"Ed, your forgetting your manners." She says with her signature laugh behind her hand.

"Oh, excuse me. My name is Ed Elric. I don't know any of you, and I'm new here in town."

"Hi, Ed. I'm Minato. We meet this morning. This is Musubi, Kusano or Ku-Chan, Kazahana, Matsu, and Tsukiumi." He moves his arm to show who is who.

Ed's mouth drops open. "So, wait. All them are your Sekirei?" Ed asks incredulously

"Uh, yeah. Crazy isn't it. How did you know?"

"While Miya and I were talking out in the garden, she had Matsu come down and explain what I had seen yesterday."

"Hi, I'm Uzume. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Kagari, even though we have already met."

With the introductions out of the way, dinner proceeded as normal. Normal for the Izumo Inn, which usually means that Tsukiumi would tell Musubi that she would be the next one to sit in that seat and more talk about each other, especially Ed.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile, news of Ed has spread around.

"Oh, really? Now that is a young man that I would like to meet. Make it happen."

* * *

End Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4: Kidnap

**Chapter 4: Kidnap**

Later that afternoon, Miya's other guests started to wake up. First was Katsuragi. Waking up in an unfamiliar environment and not with Higa, she panics. Only to be deposited back on the floor by Homura.

"Stay calm; there is no need to fight. And fighting is prohibited in Izumo Inn. I won't break that rule, but do you want the wrath of Hannya of the North? If not, then sit quietly. You will be let go soon. Don't worry; no harm will come to you as long as you obey the rules."

Defeated, she sinks down to her knees and weeps. "What am I going to do? I've never been separated from him for so long. What am I going to do? I can't go back. I can't go back."

"And why is it that you can't go back. He is your Ashikabi?"

More tears come out. "He won't accept me. I failed him. I cannot face him, nor will he give the time of day."

"How is that different than normal? He is not what an Ashikabi is supposed to be. Stay here for a while and observe Minato. He is a better Ashikabi than Higa will ever be. He actually gives a damn about his Sekirei. In the meantime, come down and get some food. You've been asleep for some time."

"Ok, I'll give it a try. Just don't expect me to stay here too long."

She gets up and follows Kagari out the door and into the kitchen where Hotaru is sitting also. Upon seeing Katsuragi, she yelps and jumps behind Tsukiumi. "Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. I woke up here and now I'm hungry so, yeah."

She walks up to the counter and digs in. Miya comes from out of nowhere. "Good, I'm glad you're not going to cause problems. I would hate to think of what would happen." She puts a hand to her mouth as she laughs. Her demon mask appears behind her and makes Katsuragi jump.

"Come now Hotaru, your lunch will get cold." With that Miya walks out of the room goes to Ed/Minato's room. Knocking, she opens the door and finds Ed staring out the window with his feet propped up on the sill. He is wearing a red jacket that has a symbol on it that she doesn't recognize with his regular black pants and a black tank top.

"Ed, would you mind going to the store for me? I need ingredients for tonight's dinner."

"Yeah, sure. But I don't have any money. I also don't know where the market is."

"That's ok. The Hotaru, the girl you saved yesterday is feeling better and I don't think she will mind showing you the way. Oh and here is the list and 200 yen. Be back soon."

With that Ed takes the list and heads downstairs behind Miya. He looks into the kitchen and sees Hotaru. She is about his height; her hair is fire red and reaches her thighs. Her eyes also looked like they have also are fire branded. She is wearing a combination of Homura and Miya's outfits. A long, black cape, a floor length blue skirt, and a black top, with a chocker collar that matches her skirt.

As Ed approaches, she looks over at him and gets up too quickly, knocking her food on the floor. She looks down to hide her massive blush. "Oh, Miya, I'm so sorry. I'll clean it up."

Miya kneels next to her and whispers in her ear. Next thing Ed knows, Hotaru visibly jumps and her cheeks turn the same shade as her hair. Miya nods at her and Hotaru gets off the floor. A quick bow and she walks up to Ed, her eyes still on the ground.

"Miya has asked me to lead to the market. This way please." With that, she walks to the door. Ed follows uncertainly. They leave the house in utter silence. After a few minutes, Ed starts to feel a little bit awkward.

Hotaru mumble something inaudible. Knowing that saying something will cause her to blush and become flustered, it was better than her thinking that he is ignoring her. Gently grabbing her arm, he stops her and turns her around.

"I didn't hear what you said. What were you trying to tell me?" he asks as gently as he can.

She is silent for a minute before she raises her head and looks him in the eyes. "I said thanks for saving me yesterday. We haven't been introduced. I'm Sekirei number 14, Hotaru. My power is to control whatever element I want, but only one at a time. The element I use is reflected in my hair and eye color."

Glad to get a conversation going, Ed holds out his hand to shake hers. "My name is Ed Elric, nice to meet you. Don't worry about yesterday. I hate bullies and hate it when people hurt others for personal gain."

Hotaru links arms with his and together they walk to the market. "What did you do yesterday? I've never seen anything like that before." She asks. Ed shouldn't be surprised. He will probably have to explain it several more times.

"Well, where I come from. There is a science called Alchemy. It is the process of understanding a substance, breaking it down, and then restructuring it as something else. This gives me the ability to heat up food and air to construct buildings and objects. You saw me take a steel pipe, break it down, and then restructure it as a sword."

"Wow, I would like to have that ability. It sounds way awesome. To be able to remake the world as I see fit. Sounds like it is very powerful."

"It is, but it does have its limits. I cannot create something out of nothing. I must have an equal mass compatible elements present for me to create something new. What comes out must equal what went into the reaction. When I do this process it is called a transmutation. Most people need a transmutation circle, but I'm unique in that all I have to do is clap my hands and I can perform Alchemy."

"Well, I guess it must have its limits or you would be unstoppable. Oh, were here."

They are at the store and gone in less than 10 minutes, unaware that they are being watched. Halfway back to the inn, a woman in a black kimono top and a matching short, black skirt, falls down in the middle of the street. Ed and Hotaru move in to help her up. As they get closer, they see that she has pink hair pulled back into a side ponytail.

They move in to help her, when suddenly, both Ed and Hotaru are struck on the back on the head. Just before Ed passes out, he sees a woman wrapped in bandages and a black tattered dress from behind them with a sadistic grin on her face.

**

* * *

**

'Why does my body get warm while talking about him? Am I reacting to him?'

* * *

End of Chapter 4


	5. Chapter 5: An Unexpected Rescue

**Chapter 5: An Unexpected Rescue**

'I have to get back. I have to tell them what happened.' She thinks.

Reaching her destination, she throws the door open and collapses on the floor. Having heard the door open, but not close, Musubi comes down the stairs to see who is at the door. When she sees Hotaru on the floor, she screams for Miya, who is there in a flash.

"Hotaru. Hotaru! Wake up! What happened? Where is Ed?" She asks.

No answer. She passed out. Miya carries her to a futon. "Musubi, get me a wash cloth and some warm water. She may take a while to regain consciousness."

**

* * *

**

Hotaru's eyes open a little realizes she is laying down on something soft and on the ground. She sits up quickly, a little too quickly and her head nearly burst with pain. She recalls what happened and starts to not just cry, but weep.

Miya, who hadn't left the room, sits beside her. "Relax, your safe here. What happened?"

Because of the tears, she could barely talk. "They… they… took him. Out of nowhere. I just blacked out." At this the tears renewed. Miya holds her and comforts her until the tears subside and she is able to continue.

"We had… left the store for here… we heard a scream and a woman went down in the middle of the road. We went to … help her, and then something hit me … from behind. Last thing … I saw before I blacked out was … the woman get up with …an evil smile … on her face. Then I woke up later and … Ed was gone."

More tears, but these were silent. Miya just holds her, gently rocking her back and forth, deep in thought. After a few minutes, Hotaru falls asleep. Coming up with an idea, she lays Hotaru down on the futon and goes to see Matsu.

Once in the room she informs her of the situation. "Can you access the surveillance satellite and show what happened? It would have been almost right after they left here. Look for a woman who fell down in their path."

Matsu starts and her fingers are flying faster than Miya can keep up with. In a matter of minutes, she has the footage. She enters in the information and waits while the computer accesses the requested data.

A video feed comes up on her screen. She inputs the time index and coordinates. The screen zooms in on Izumo Inn.

"Bingo. Here we go. This is the Inn at 5pm. Here we watch as they leave. Now they stop and talk for a second. Now they continue…"

"Matsu. I can see the screen. There is no need for a play-by-play account."

They watch in silence as the screen follows them to the market. About 10 minutes later they exit the store with several bags. They continue down the street when they suddenly break into a run.

"Ok, slow it down. This is where it occurred."

Matsu slows the footage down. They see a woman dressed in black on the ground as Ed and Hotaru approach. Suddenly, a figure appears behind them and hit both of them on the back of the head.

"Pause it and zoom in on the newcomer."

As the screen zooms in on the second unknown, Matsu activates a facial recognition program and runs it through the MBI database.

"Al right. The one that hit them is # 104, Haihane. Running the other now… she is #105: Benitsubasa. Shit. They are part of the disciplinary squad. That means it was either Natsuo Ichinomi or Minaka. Either way, this is not good."

"Get everyone together. Have them meet me in the living room." Miya gets up and goes to her room. From her door she counts down 3 fists and left 10. Placing her hand on the surface, she hits the wall, causing it to cave in. Behind the wall she retrieves a sword. Not just any sword, Totsuga No Tsurugi, the legendary sword from Japanese mythology. Also, she grabs a change of clothes.

She walks into the living room to find that her instructions have been followed. She is wearing a tight black leather top, a miniskirt and stockings complete with a grey cape with the Sekirei Crest printed on it. Minato, Tsukiumi, Matsu, Musubi, Kazahana, Ku-Chan, Hotaru, and Kagari all have assembled.

She sits in front of them and places the sword in front of her. "What I'm about to tell you will not leave this room, got it? I am Miya, Sekirei number 01. Leader of the original Disciplinary Squad.." Minato and the others (besides Kagari, Kazahana, and Matsu) all gasp in surprise.

"This is the outfit that all first generation members received and this is Totsuga No Tsurugi, 10-Hands Long Sword, the legendary blade from Japanese mythology. It is just as famous at the infamous Masamune. I used this when Kamikura Island was invaded. My part was to sink the support ships off the coast, and I did just that. I used a sonic blast with my sword and literally cut the ships in half." Minato and the others all have their mouths opens and gaping at her in disbelief.

"Now the reason I'm telling you this is because our friend Ed has been kidnapped by the Disciplinary Squad. That means that this came from 1 of 2 people. Most likely it came from Minaka. I knew he was crazy, but I never thought he would be this crazy. I am going to end this ridiculous game once and for all. I am requesting your help. I need a distraction while Hotaru and I sneak in so she can rescue Ed and I can take out Minaka."

Minato looks at his Sekirei and gets a nod from them all. "All right, we are in. Just tell us what we have to do."

"They will expect a rescue attempt. So we give them one. Minato and the others will go in the front door and engage the disciplinary squad. The problem will be Karasuba. She is very aggressive and won't hesitate to kill one of you.

"Minato, you are to stay outside and wait. If Karasuba gets overwhelmed, then she will kill you instead of taking on 5 Sekirei at the same time. Remember, if you die, then they all die. I suggest you give them a kiss before they go in. That way, they can use an incantation if necessary."

Minato nods. "Matsu, you stay here and keep us informed about any new developments. Also, try to hack into the building's security and try to find Ed through the security cameras. Kusano, since you are a little too young to go, stay here and guard Matsu. When MBI learns of my involvement, they will more than likely send troops here to secure the place. Since Matsu isn't that strong of the fighter she will need you to help her.

"Kagari, call Takami and tell her to get out now and have her hit the fire alarm too. That will clear the building of all bystanders and reduce the likelihood of injuring one. Don't tell what we are doing. She will try to stop Minaka herself."

"Uh, not to be rude, but Kagari, what are you going to do? These 4 are Sekirei, but you are just a human, like me."

Kagari chuckles a little and holds out his hand. A ball of fire erupts from his palm, but he isn't burned. "Sorry to keep it from you, but I am Homura, Sekirei number 06. My specialty is fire and heat manipulation."

"What! You mean we have been living together for months now and you now just tell me that you, my rival, is in the next room!" Tsukiumi emanates fury. She gathers water in her hand as she prepares to attack when…

A few hairs fall from Tsukiumi's' bangs. Startled she turns and sees that Miya's sword is drawn and has a few of Tsukiumi's hairs in her hand. "I've told you before; there will be no violence in the Izumo Inn. And now is not the time. Is it?" The last to words were emphasizes by her personal demon appearing right in front of Tsukiumi, causing her to latch onto Minato's leg.

"I don't need to tell you this, but if we fail, then we will be hunted. MBI may try to take the Inn by force, but with all of us, they will not be successful. We might have problems if MBI enlists the other Ashikabi's and try to eliminate us in one shot. We cannot withstand 90 or so Sekirei, even with me."

They all nod their understanding and Miya re-sheathes the sword and holds it out. "I made a promise not to use this blade again, but I cannot stand idle. Forgive me Takehito. Let's go."

**

* * *

**

Ed wakes to the sound of someone laughing. Not normal laughing like a giggle or chuckle, but a manacle, loathsome laughter. Ed doesn't like the sound of it at all. He tries to move, but finds his hands tied down to the arms of the chair.

"Hey, you mind shutting up for 2 minutes; your mating call is getting on my nerves." Ed shouts.

The laughing stops. Ed hears the *click-stomp* *click-stomp* of boots coming from behind him. Ed raises his head only to find that he is not in a room. He looks out over the city from the highest building. A spectacular sight to say the least. He would have taken the time to admire the view under different circumstances.

"So, you awake. How nice of you to join us. I'm Minaka Hiroto. Now that you mention it, you're pretty unusual, don't you say? What? You say that you're an alien? You don't say. Now you say that you're a macho man who comes from hell to slay all the beauties in the world. I don't think I have to worry about a…"

'Come on, say it. Say that I'm a shrimp.'

"… a weakling like you. You're far too short to…"

Minaka stops suddenly because Ed had stood up and rammed the legs of the chair into his testicles and stomach. Minaka slumps over, cradling his now shish-kabobed testicles.

"That's what you get for picking on people shorter than you, you weak ass motherfucker. Now, why don't you let me go and then I will let you live."

Minaka is, needless to say, very slow to get up. "That was a cheap shot kid. Now have a seat before I blow your fucking head off!" With surprising speed he jumps at Ed and secures a 1 gram wedge of C4 on Ed's forehead.

"I'm sure you know what that is. C4, one of the most powerful explosives known to man. One push of this button and your head goes poof. Now answer my questions before I decide my thumb needs resting." Just to show that he is serious, he pulls out a trigger and almost pushes the button.

Ed sits down, but his right hand begins to do something to the chair. Hoping to buy time, he comes up with an idea.

"Before I tell you about my power, how about I tell you about me. To understand what I've been through is to understand the nature of my power."

Minaka sits on the floor in front of Ed with a rapt look on his face. With a grimace, Ed starts to tell his story.

**

* * *

**

Ed is to his training with Al on an uninhabited island when…

_Alert, Alert. A fire has broken out in Lab 4. All personnel must evacuate the premises. Alert, Alert…_

"Looks like time is up. We had better be going." Ed says. He tries to get up, but is pushed back down by Minaka.

"Continue the story." His expression is of absolute seriousness.

"Look, I'll tell you once we get out of here. But there is kind of a fire and we need to get off the roof." Ed tries once more to get up.

"I SAID FINISH THE STORY!" Minaka barks. He pulls the protector cap off the trigger and has his thumb an inch from the button.

With a sign, Ed continues.

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile…

"Matsu to Miya. Matsu to Miya. The fire alarm has gone off at the MBI building. Total evacuation will be complete in 3 minutes. Are you in position?"

Miya reaches up to her communicator located in her left ear. "Stand by. Approaching target. Eta, 30 seconds."

"Rodger. I'll monitor the private arm's radio frequencies and let you know if they go your way. Wait one… Ok, the army is sending a squad over to the MBI to facilitate evacuation. How do you want to proceed?"

"No changes, just a sped up timeline. Let us know if they send more troops. Miya out." With that she lands on the roof of the building closest to the target.

"Ok, a little addendum to the schedule. Matsu informed me that the building will be evacuated in less than 2 minutes. She also discovered a squad of soldiers from the private army here. Take them out first, before they can contact with HQ. Hotaru and I will move quickly to our objectives. We will rendezvous at the park just a few blocks from the Inn. Do not fight the army, stick to the plan, even if it means leaving us behind. Any objections?" There are none.

"Alright. Good luck to you all. See you at the park." With that, 6 Sekirei leap at the building.

**

* * *

**

"I don't like this. We have a prisoner up stairs and the fire alarm just happens to go off? And yet, the computer doesn't detect any fire anywhere in the building. Something is fishy here." Benitsubasa says as she rubs her chin in thought.

"If want to be a fish, then by all means, let's go swimming." All three members of the disciplinary squad turn around to find 4 Sekirei facing them.

"Oh, now. What is this? Have we come to attempt a rescue? That is noble and all, but why don't you run along now." Karasuba says, drawing her sword.

"Sorry, Karasuba-sama, but our Ashikabi has wished for the rescue of our friend. And we can't disappoint him" Musubi steps forward. "Now, you can let us by, or you can lose and forfeit your Sekirei symbol. I know we made a promise, but you want Yume, not me. As far as I'm concerned, you didn't make the deal because you like me, but to fight my twin sister. So the promise is broken."

"My, my Mu-chan. When did you grow a spinal cord? Sorry to break it too you, but I won't lose. And now since the promise is off, I don't have any qualms about killing you."

"Great, with that out of the way, let's get this party started."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile, Miya and Hotaru use the back entrance. Miya makes quick work of the alarm and the door with a few slashes of the sword. Once inside, they locate the stair and they check in with Matsu.

"Miya to Matsu. Any sign of where they are holding Ed?"

"Wait one… Ok, security cameras show that Ed was brought in unconscious and carried up to the upper floors several hours ago. His exact location was not show in the footage. However, I accessed the surveillance satellite and got an aerial view of the entire area.

"The satellite picked up two heat signatures on the roof. On real-time imaging, I confirmed that Ed is being held on the roof by Minaka. Also, upon further inspection from the high resolution telescope there appears to be some kind of plastic explosive placed on Ed's forehead."

"Rodger that. We will head up to the roof. What is the situation with the others?"

"They have just engaged the disciplinary squad on the bottom floor. Reports of massive damage to the building. The army has been contacted, but I created a feedback loop in the comm. Frequencies that will prevent them from issuing long range communications. I estimate that they have 10 minutes tops."

"Thanks for the update. Miya out." She turns to Hotaru. "Let's move out."

**

* * *

**

I'm taking a poll to see who you want to see fight. Only one set will be written: Musubi vs. Benitsubasa, Tsukiumi vs. Haihane, and Homura and Kazahana vs. Karasuba. Sorry for all those who wanted to read all three, but to write all three would take way too long (this chapter is already 3,000 words!). I'm open to suggestions on how the fight should progress. Submit a review and vote the fight you wish to read!

tomhunt98.

**

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**

Miya and Hotaru race up the stairs. 1…2…3…4…10…20…50…60…80. They start to slow as they near the top floor and they break for a minute to catch their breath.

"Matsu to Miya. Minato and his Sekirei have retreated. Only minor injuries: Kazahana got a sword through the left bicep and a couple of cuts here and there, Musubi has a bruised rib, Tsukiumi has a gash on her left cheek. Benitsubasa was seriously injured. The building is currently surrounded by the army and has sealed off the area. The easiest way to escape would be to cross on the roofs. See you when you get back here. Matsu out."

Miya turns to Hotaru. "The others are safe. They have gone to the park. Time for our job."

Hotaru nods and closes her eyes. Miya looks at her watches as her hair turns to gold. When she opens her eyes, her eyes are the exact same color. She reaches into her pockets and puts on a pair of gloves. "I'm ready. Lightning is less hazardous to others than fire or water just in case we run into any guards. These gloves are made of a special material. They act as a flint when snap or rub my fingers, creating sparks for flame or electricity."

Miya nods her understanding and they burst onto the top floor, sword and Hotaru's hands at the ready. They jump out of the way as gunfire pours through the open door. "On second thought, maybe water would be better and just flood the hallway."

Hotaru changes elements. Her hair is now a deep indigo. She closes her eyes and condenses the water in the air and hurtles the water down the hallway sweeping up the security personnel and pushes them into the stairwell on the opposite side of the building.

**

* * *

**

"It looks like your friends gave up on you. They just left the building carrying one of their own. They were afraid as the army pulled up and started firing on them. So, now that we are alone again, continue the story."

Minaka laughs his creepy, manacle laugh that chills Ed to his nerve connectors.

"Oh, where was I? I think I was to the point where my mother died. Yes, that was very tragic. No mother should have to leave 7 and 8 year old kids. Of course, yours should never have had you, but that is a different story."

Minaka is about to slap him again when the door to the roof bursts open. Water flows out and several security officers float out onto the roof.

"Hehe, looks like the rescue attempt isn't over just yet."

Realizing what was happening; Minaka grabs the block of C4 off of Ed's head and runs over to the door. He shuts the door and places the block right above the door. He then goes over and gets flush against the wall, waiting for whoever comes through the door first.

Ed watching doesn't believe what he is seeing. Minaka is willing to commit murder in order to get answers from him. Ed can't allow that to happen. Luckily, Ed has a secret weapon. The whole time he was talking, he never touched the subject of Alchemy.

He reaches down his fingers to the very tiny circle drawn by his right hand into the actual metal. He begins the transmutation as the door opens and out steps Miya. Ed looks at her and sees her in an outfit he has never seen before.

"Miya, look out!"

He completes his transmutation of the chair into a javelin (a long range spear) and hurls it at Minaka's hand. Too late. Minaka presses the button and the wall explodes. The javelin flies straight through Minaka's hand and implants itself several inches into the clock tower.

The force of the explosion crumbles the wall and the hallway directly on the other side. Hotaru, having heard Ed's warning, threw herself down the hallway just in time to escape the blast. Miya, on the other hand was not so lucky.

The force of the blast sent her flying forward and hit the rail, knocking her unconscious. Worse, the momentum carries her over the rail and she begins to free fall 100 stories to her death.

Without a second thought, Ed dives over the edge after her. He claps his hands together and touches his jacket, turning it into Teflon and also securing the ends around his ankles. Quickly catching up to her, he gets his arms under her torso and knees so he is almost carrying her bride style. Clapping his hands one more time, he begins to heat the air around them, causing the jacket to inflate. This slows their decent to a few feet per second.

Ed feels Miya stir in his arms, and he tightens his grip around her. She opens her eyes and looks up to see Ed holding her as they descended. "What happened?" she asks quietly.

"Minaka used and explosive to blow up the wall after you walked through the door and it knocked you out and threw you over the edge. I jumped over the edge and used alchemy to slow our decent."

Suddenly Miya feels very hot. She starts to squirm and looks away from his face.

"What's wrong? You need to stay still or I might drop you."

"It's nothing; I'm just very hot all of a sudden," she says quietly. Miya can't stop herself as she looks at his face to find he is staring right back. Her mind shuts down. That never happened, even while she was with Takehito. With her brain shut down she is defenseless as her body takes over.

She reaches up with a hand and caresses his face. With the other one, she cups his face as she leans forward his kisses him. A blinding light erupts from Miya as they fall.

**

* * *

**

"Look mommy, a shooting star!"

"Your right. Make a wish. They say that a wish made upon a shooting star is destined to come true."

**

* * *

**

Minato and the others are waiting at the rendezvous point when Kazahana and Homura both look back toward the MBI building.

"Looks like the winds have decided on a course," Kazahana says. She looks at Homura, who gives her a nod in agreement. "Well, things are about to get interesting around here."

* * *

End of Chapter 5


	6. Chapter 6: Broken Hearts and Minds

**Chapter 6: Broken Hearts and Minds**

"…now and forever." Miya speaks into Ed's ear.

"What was that light just now?"

"You have become my Ashikabi, Ed. I, Miya, number 01, recognize you as my Ashikabi."

Startled, Ed panics. "What? What are you talking about? I can't be your Ashikabi. I'm not even from here. And I still don't understand what that bright light was. And how…" Miya giggles and puts a finger up to his lips to stop him from talking.

"Shhhh, my darling. All your questions will have answers soon. For now, we need a way to signal Hotaru. She was with me to rescue you. Well, she was there to rescue you. I was there to kill Minaka. But I guess he got away clean."

Ed grins. "Well, I wouldn't say clean. He has to get his hand out of the wall where I impaled it with a javelin. And I have a way to signal her once we land on the ground. I have alchemy. Oh, that reminds me. Would you like to learn alchemy? I'm a pretty good teacher and I'm pretty sure that you have the ability to use it."

"I would love to spend some time with you, even if it is for learning purposes. I may have to teach you a few things first…" A wicked grin spreads itself across her face.

'What did I get myself into this time?' Ed sees the roof of the closest building and adjusts his feet like the tail fins on an airplane and directs them there. Once on the ground, Ed claps his hands puts them on the ground. He closes his eyes and concentrates.

**

* * *

**

Up on the roof, Hotaru is sitting on the ledge looking over the edge. She saw the bright light and knows what happened. He was supposed to be hers; the man who rescued her, who had risked his life for her and she in return. She was supposed to rescue him, but instead Miya had lied to her and seduced Ed and now they were, or soon will be, married.

As she sits her "doom-and-gloom" cloud a slight rumbling causes her to come out of her thoughts. She looks over her shoulder and sees in the middle of the roof, that there is a raised section. She goes over and sees that the ridges are a message.

"Sorry we had to run out like that. Meet us at the communications tower on the north side of town in 10 minutes. We need to get out of the area quickly. Ed"

'Well, there is still a chance. Ashikabi's aren't limited to one Sekirei, but how do I compete with her? She is the most powerful Sekirei in the world and now that she is winged, she is even stronger. I don't want to share him. I want him all to myself. Maybe Ed will only marry me. Oooooh, I like that thought. I'd better get going to make it on time.'

**

* * *

**

Ed and Miya fly across town on the roof tops. Miya drags Ed along by his hand (though not as roughly as Musubi does to Minato). Ed has to admit that this is a lot quicker than walking and it sure as hell beats running. He looks at Miya as she hauls his carcass and his heart gives a little flutter at the thought that they are holding hands.

Ed, over course has no experience dealing with women. The only time he has touched a girl inappropriately was when he pursed Psiren and he tackled her. Before he realized it, his groped her left breast. Ed was off her so fast then shouted that he didn't mean that. This was a completely different feeling. Like everything is right and well in the world when they held hands.

Once at the tower, Miya lands gently on a nearby roof. Ed speaks to Miya.

"So what happens now? I don't even know where to begin." He sits against a concrete rail overlooking the comm tower.

Miya sits next to him and puts her head on his left shoulder. Taking his hand in hers she starts to explain. "The light you saw was me being winged. It was hard to tell but there were actual wings of light. We now have a connection that can never be broken. We Sekirei can feel the emotions of our Ashikabi and vice versa. I will know when you are happy, sad, angry, contempt, annoyed, or moody. A Sekirei who is forced into winging will never feel that because it was not her choice.

"You not being from here isn't in issue. You are human. You have human DNA and my body responded to you. I don't fully understand about why I reacted to you and not Takehito, but whatever the reason it doesn't matter anymore. All I want is to stay with you for years to come."

Ed is astounded at what he just heard. That she would want to spend the rest of her life with him, someone she just met, is beyond him. "Um, aren't I a bit young? I'm only 16."

"Age is just a number. From what I have seen of you and heard of your story, you are a grown man already. I'm not exactly usual either. You see, physically I'm in my early twenties, but I'm about 100 years old."

When no sound comes from Ed, she looks to see his mouth hanging wide open, with drool coming out. Laughing outright, she closes his mouth and continues explaining. "I was the first Sekirei to be awakened by Minaka and Takami. Remember when Matsu told you about the 1 adult, 9 embryos, and 99 fertilized eggs? I was the one adult. I had reached physical and metal maturity well before I was put inside that chamber. I am pure Sekirei. The others have major genetic modifications that Minaka, Takami, and Takehito did. They were only able to do a little bit of modification on me."

"Why did you let them do that to you? To them, you were just a lab rat. A tool to further scientific discovery with. I've seen my fair share of atrocities on my side of the Gate. Hell, my side has done worse things that the people here will ever even imagine because of Alchemy."

Miya thinks for a second as she is absent mindedly stroking Ed's arm. "I don't know why I let them. I guess it was because I could feel that they meant me no harm and that they wanted to help me. You see, a pure Sekirei has amazing powers. But they can't handle all of that power before they get an Ashikabi or learn to control them in a safe environment. Where we come from, they had special zones placed around where Sekirei can fight each other and discover how to learn and control their powers. But the others couldn't do that here. So the only option, to MBI, was genetic modifications. Make them less powerful to keep them stable. They also made it easier for them to be winged, since a pure Sekirei has only one Ashikabi. She may have to wait decades for him or her, so they decided to make it easier. "

"You waited a hundred years, just for me. So, only I could become your Ashikabi?" Miya nods in his shoulder. "Then what would have happened if your Ashikabi was still on you home world?"

"I would never have an Ashikabi, unless I went back."

"Sounds like a game a of chance to me. However, I still don't understand our connection. Like right now, I want to put my arm around you and pull you closer and when I do, I feel like I don't have a care in the world. Why though? And how could it make us, who wouldn't think of touching more than a handshake or a hug become so touchy-feely so suddenly?"

Ed feels Miya's happiness rise at his words. So he does what his body tell him to. He takes his left arm, puts it around her waist and pulls her closer into him. He feels Miya's happiness soar. "It's because we now have an emotional connection that others without a Sekirei can't imagine. It brings us closer, binds us, and makes us Sekirei more powerful. And this connection gets stronger with the passing of time. So imagine in 20 years how close we will be. We might not even have to speak to each other to get thoughts across."

**

* * *

**

'God this is sickening. Her being so close to my Ashikabi. Her chatting it up with him and her seductions are working! I have to act fast if I am to save my Ashikabi.'

Hotaru jumps onto the scene from an adjacent roof.

Ed and Miya spot her and get up and walk over to her, Miya's arm in his.

"Good to see you got out of there. We were beginning to worry," Ed says as he approaches. Suddenly he gets a feeling of caution from Miya. He looks over at her, but finds a smile still on her face. He gets the gist of cause of Miya's feelings. Something isn't right.

"We had better go and get Minato and the others; they are still waiting at the park for us." With that Ed and Miya turn around and start to walk off. In reality, Miya contacted them earlier and told them to head back to the Inn. They were just looking for an excuse to not stay in one place with just themselves.

'Walk off with her will you. Well, if I can't have you then nobody can!' Hotaru closes her eyes and when she reopens them, they are crimson. Putting on her gloves, she snaps her fingers and directs the attack toward Ed.

A flame burst forth and heads surrounds him. When the flames disappear, nothing is left. "Humph, now that was easy. Maybe a weakling like him shouldn't have been worthy of being my Ashikabi after all."

"Is that what this about?"

Hotaru jerks her head up to find both Miya and Ed soaring over her head. They land behind her and Miya puts herself between Hotaru and Ed.

"Is that why you attacked my Ashikabi? Because you can't have him to yourself? Well, that can't happen anymore and believe me when I say that I won't lose. Not to you and not now." Miya brings up her sword and draws it. She slices the air to her left and demolishes a building 50 feet away with a sonic boom. "Now, if you're done with your school girl crush, my Ashikabi is tired."

Ed places a hand on Miya's shoulder. "Hold up. I want to try to talk to her. I want to keep you guys from fighting, especially over me." Miya's eyes don't leave Hotaru but she nods her head in understanding.

Ed moves forward, out from behind Miya. "Look, I don't know much about Sekirei or the Sekirei Plan, but what I do know is that nobody has to get hurt. I know that you like me. It was apparent from when we went to the store. I know that you guys have a huge hope of one day finding your destined partner and being with them for eternity. I don't think that I'm that person for you.

"I know rejection is difficult, however, I have never been there myself. I was too busy as a child and a teenager for women. But I see the look on your face and that you risked yourself for me. I'm sorry things didn't turn out that way you wanted, but let me be the first to tell you that there are a million of fish in the sea. You just have to find the right one for you, and that person isn't me."

Ed walks forward and gives a stunned Hotaru a hug. "I'm sorry, but I want to be with Miya. When I'm with her I feel invincible, that the world around me can't touch me not even the problems that arise. Go and find you're Ashikabi, and then you may understand."

Ed lets go and goes to back to Miya's side. He suddenly has an urge to kiss her and does to. This time when Miya's wings appear, he sees them.

"Hot damn. They really are wings," he says as he gives a little chuckle. They both feel the happiness of the other and it just makes them all the more happy.

Hotaru stands in silence, not believing what she heard and saw. In her mind, she is seeing Ed kiss Miya and replays it over and over. Her mind shatters. She lets out a shriek of pure rage. Her veins begin to visibly boil. Steam starts rising around her. The ground shakes. Wind and water begin to swirl around her. Her hair turns pitch black as do her eyes.

She then launches herself at the couple. Ed and Miya split apart. Hotaru uses dual Water Sword and Hana Utage blowing Ed off balance then rushes to finish him. Ed rolls with wind and does a back hand spring to propel himself out of range. She jumps high into the air and drops down with the intent of cutting him in half. At the last second, Miya grabs Ed and moves him out of the way. There is a huge impact on the roof.

"We have to end this soon. She is using so much power to control all the elements that she will be so drained her body will cease to function. I will distract her while you either knock her out or wing her. There are no other options. Move!"

Miya pushes Ed out of the way of one of the water blade and Miya slashes the other one, evaporating it instantly. Hotaru brings up the other one and reforms the evaporated blade and goes after Miya. In a blaze of dodging and counter attacking, they move about the rooftops demolishing everything in their path

Miya pushes Ed out of the way of one of the water blades and Miya slashes the other one, evaporating it instantly. Hotaru brings up the other one and reforms the evaporated blade and goes after Miya. In a blaze of dodging and counter attacking, they move about the rooftops demolishing everything in their path. Their movements so quick that Ed's trained eye can barely keep up. All he sees are little puffs of steam as water is evaporated my Miya. Ed stairs in amazement at the sheer speed of the battle.

Miya, on the other hand is trying not to kill Hotaru. She is counting the number of times that Hotaru left herself open and how many of those times that she could have ended it there. She sneaks a glance to see what Ed has planned, only to find him watching her, completely mesmerized by the battle.

Getting an idea, a small smile crosses her face. Miya dodges and jumps over Hotaru, who continues attacking as if nothing had happened.

'Good, she is so focused on me, that she didn't notice any of her surroundings. Time to have some fun.'

Miya keeps on dodging in the general direction of Ed. When she is about 5 feet from him (he still hasn't moved and he still has his eyes on her) she leaps over him as he looks up to follow her and gently taps him on the head with the hilt of her sword and blows a kiss at him all at the same time. She then attacks past Ed to keep Hotaru away from him. Ed shakes his head at what just happened and begins to move.

Suddenly Hotaru grabs the blade of Miya's sword and uses a fire between her hands and begins to heat the blade. Miya can't remove the blade from Hotaru's hands because it could cause the flesh to peel or to cut her hands clean off.

"Edward, if you're going to do something, now would be a good time. I can't hold onto this blade for much longer." The entire blade is glowing, down to the bottom of the hilt.

From one rooftop over, Ed jumps onto the rooftop with Miya and Hotaru. Clapping his hands he grabs a TV antenna and transmutes it into a coil of steel rope. He then places his hand on the ground and a pillar comes up and hit Hotaru from the side slicing her hands open and pinning her into a stairwell.

Miya is quick to follow. She jumps and lands on the pillar pinning Hotaru. She points the glowing tip of the sword right at Hotaru's throat. Realizing she is in trouble, she begins to radiate heat from her body. The concrete on both sides of her begin to glow and melt. "Come on Ed, stop fucking around back there. I don't want to kill her, but I will if I have to."

"Be there in a minute."

"We don't have a minute. She is close to a meltdown."

10 seconds later a huge amount of water drenches both Miya and Hotaru. With steam rising from Hotaru, Ed walks up behind her claps his hands and touches the back of her head. She instantly goes limp.

"Are you ok?"

Miya gets down from the pillar and walks over to Ed. He puts his arm around her shoulder as she sheathes her sword. Ed gets a good look at her hands. There are char marks and patches of burned skin all over them.

"Miya, I'm sorry about your hands. I didn't realize I was talking so long. The water was the only way to cool her down safely. If I had knocked her out first, her body may still have continued to generate heat. I don't believe in having more than one partner, so I had to knock her out."

He takes her hands and kisses them. "I'm ok. Let's get her back to the Inn. What did you do to her?"

Ed undoes the pillar and picks Hotaru up and puts her over his right shoulder. "I blocked certain electrical pulses to her brain. It made her pass out without the possibility of her walking up without me reversing it. It won't cause permanent damage, but she will be out until we want her to wake up."

Getting a sudden idea, Ed puts down Hotaru and gently grabs Miya's hands. "I know we have only known each other for a short while, but I've come to realize that I don't want to live without you. So…" Ed gets down on one knee.

"Miya Asama, will you marry me?"

Not really expecting a proposal, she places a hand over her mouth and blushes. "Of course Ed. I would love to be your wife." Excitedly, Ed transmutes a ring out of the bucket he transmuted earlier. "This will have to do until I can get a real ring, but please accept it." She nods and Ed puts the ring on her finger. He stands up and looks into her eyes, then bends down and kisses her. This time, her wings produce the bright light it did the first time.

* * *

End of Chapter 6


	7. Chapter 7: Party, Crash, Make a Ring

**Chapter 7: Party, Crash, and Make a Ring**

Ed and Miya arrive back at the Inn 30 minutes later.

They enter the Inn, discard their shoes at the door and drop off Hotaru in the living room. They head back to Miya's room, unnoticed by anybody.

"Why do you think she attacked us?" Ed asks when the door was shut. He faces the wall, deep in thought.

"A Sekirei's heart is a fragile thing. For her to not have you all to herself was simply something her mind would not accept. All a Sekirei has in life is to find her Ashikabi and spend the rest of her life with him or her. She thought you were her Ashikabi and her body may even have been reacting with you. When you told her you weren't, her whole world was gone. Her mind snapped like a twig. Some can overcome rejection, but not many can. Unless we wake her up, we may never know for sure."

Miya begins to disrobe. "Well, I think that is the best theory so fa…" Ed's mind explodes as he turns toward Miya and sees what she is doing. He turns his back and (contrary to how he feels) calmly asks, "Uh, Miya, what are you doing? Should I excuse myself?"

"Well, I'm still wet and I need to change before I get a cold and no, you can stay if you like."

Ed turns around, just slightly, and looks and true enough, Miya still has water still dripping from her clothes and hair. He notices something odd.

"Hey Miya, you don't have a Sekirei symbol on your neck like the others. Does that mean you don't have one? And let me take care of your wet clothes for you."

"Thank you Ed." she says as continues to get undressed. Ed all but passes out when she takes her top off.

She giggles when she sees him laying spread eagle and his nose erupting with blood. "You said you would take care of my wet clothes. I assumed you meant dry them outside. And I have one, but you find out later."

"I was thinking of drying them without removing any clothes. Get dressed and I can show you. Hang them up and then I will take care of them."

Miya gives a nod, but with a distinct look of disappointment on her face. Once she is fully dressed in her normal outfit, Ed (off the floor now) walks over to her clothes and claps and touches them. A flash of blue light and Miya's clothes are completely dry.

"Now for your hair." He does the same thing to her hair. As the light fades, her hair gives off a scent of Irish Spring. Somehow, and for some reason, the smell makes Ed want to take a shower under a waterfall.

"Wow, that's a very nice trick. I'll have to remember that one for the bath and laundry."

"Now for the biggest problem in the universe. Are you hungry, cause I know I am." Just as the words leave his mouth, Miya's stomach growls very loudly.

"Oh, my I guess I did forget to make dinner." Miya laughs and Ed gives a chuckle.

They exit her room and walk to the kitchen. Musubi is sitting at the counter with a spaghetti strap on with it rolled up to her breasts. A bandage covers her mind section.

"Welcome back, Miya-sama and Edward-san. When did you guys get here?"

"We just got here. Miya went to change and now we are both really hungry."

"Well, Matsu made dinner once we made it to the park. What happened to you guys though?"

Ed looks at Miya then back at Musubi. "I think that will have to wait until everyone is present."

"Well, Kazahana and Kagari went to the store for some reason. They wouldn't tell anybody why. They left a while ago. I hope nothing happened to them."

"Musubi-chan, who's in the kitchen?" Minato asks as he rounds the corner. "Thank goodness it is Miya-sama." Minato visibly relaxes. "I thought it might be someone from MBI. Welcome Edward-san, I hope you have no injuries."

"What about injuries? I hope nobody burned themselves on the stove again. If I have to treat another burn, cut, or gash I'm going to scream." says Uzume followed by Ku, Matsu, and Tsukiumi.

Tsukiumi has a bandage wrapped around her head.

"Well, now may not be the best time, but…" Miya opens her hands and shows the burns.

"Whoa, those look kinda serious. You have patches where the skin was torn off. What did you do, grab onto a molten pipe?"

Ed gives a nervous laugh, puts his right hand behind his head, and looks away. "He he… something like that. We will explain when everybody gets here. Do you know where Kazahana and Kagari went?" He looks at Miya and mouths "sorry".

"No, they just said they had some errands at the store to run. Matsu, will you get the burn ointment that you used on Kagari a while back?"

As Matsu runs and gets the ointment, Uzume continues to look over Miya's hands. When Matsu gets down to the kitchen the door opens and Kazahana and Kagari come through the door. Kazahana has a sling around her left arm with a bandage around her bicep.

When they spot Ed and Miya, they reach into the bags that Kagari is holding and grab something.

"Congratulations!" They shout as they pull the party poppers causing streamers to go all over the place.

Everyone, now covered in streamers, gives murderous looks and Ed and Miya are blushing rather hard.

"What are we celebrating? Musubi wants to participate!" Musubi says as she jumps up and down, not realizing that her boobs are doing their own aerobics.

"Oh, they didn't tell you? Well, Ed, Miya, spill the beans already so we can party. I have the sake ready to go!"

"Kazahana, you're not planning on getting drunk and stumbling into Minato's room naked later are you?" Miya's demon appears.

"Damn you found me out. I mean, I'm just happy for you. Hehe. You gotta loosen up Miya. Now that Ed's going to be your husband…" she trails off a sentence too late. The rest of the group turns back to Ed and Miya. Everyone but Ed backs up.

"Oh my Kazahana, you apparently don't want to live for much longer…" Miya smiles and a very, very big demon appears.

"Miya, your face is so scary."

Ed still has a massive blush and has his face turned away. Miya takes notice.

"Ed, you're not embarrassed of me are you?" still a smile on her face, but with a subtle hint of hurt. Ed can feel disappointment radiating from her.

Ed turns around and hugs her from behind and speaks quietly next to her ear. "No, it's nothing like that. I have never had a girlfriend. I've never really been interested in a woman before. Not one. And now I'm engaged to you and I'm just not used to the attention that's all."

A question pops into his head and Ed looks up. "Wait, Kazahana. How did you know that we are engaged?"

Kazahana looks at Kagari then back at Ed and Miya. "Well, we were waiting at the park and Uzume was treating Tsukiumi after bandaging me. Homura and I both felt you get winged. So we knew what was going to happen and we went out to get some sake and party supplies. Plus she kinda has something that looks suspiciously like an engagement ring on her finger."

"Well, I do think that welcome back party for Ed is right, but it will have to wait until I get my hands bandaged."

"Not a problem, Miya. Let them get set up, while Ed and I patch you up. It will take 20 minutes, tops." Uzume promises.

**

* * *

**

20 minutes later, as promised, Ed and Miya walk down the stairs and find the living room all decked out with streamers and signs that say, "Congratulations on Stealing the Catch of a Lifetime" and some other obscene phrases like, "Someone's getting lucky tonight" or "Can I get a piece of that ass too?" (that one was obviously Matsu's doing (a.k.a. the hentai Sekirei). Everyone had on party hats and had a little stage set up.

"Speech. Speech. Speech. Speech."

Ed looks back to Miya and gives a gesture that usually means, "Ladies first" but she wasn't having any of that. She pushes him front and center and backs away.

"Well, I guess I know who the scape goat will be in the marriage. Anyway, thanks for your support I'm not really good with speeches, so let's skip the pleasantries and play some pin-the-tail-on-the-donky. Now where is our donkey? Matsu , where are you?"

This gets him a hat thrown at him, and a look from Miya. Then someone started to chant, "Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her." Blushing Ed quickly grabs Miya and pulls her on stage into a kiss before she can object. Not just a kiss, a long and hot kiss.

Breaking the kiss, he shouts, "Hey, let's act the age we all look like and party!"

**

* * *

**

Ed wakes up with a splitting headache. He sits up only to have the equivalent of a giant bell go off in his noise sensitive ears go off. He flops to the floor in agony and his head falls on something very soft and plush. Thanking whoever put the pillow there, he rolls his face so his cheek is flush with the pillow, he doses off.

**

* * *

**

Ed awakes to a very pleasant feeling. 'This is the best pillow I've ever had'. He turns his head and curses whoever put a peanut on his pillow. He tries pushing the peanut off, but every time he tries, the peanut doesn't want to be removed from the pillow. He tries to flick it, pull it, he even tries to twist and pull. No effect. In fact, the peanut seems to get smaller and harder every time he tries to remove it.

'Could it be a defense mechanism? But it's a peanut. It shouldn't have defenses, except extreme amounts of salt.' Determined to get this peanut off of his pillow, he tries to eat it. This gets a response from the pillow. A low moan. Ed stops trying to eat the peanut and thinks. 'Wait, a peanut that gets smaller and harder the more I touch it. And a pillow made a sound of pleasure. Things don't match up here.'

He slowly opens his eyes to a purple pillow with a slit down the middle. His eyes snap open as he makes the connection. He sits bolt upright and looks down to see that he had used Kazahana as a pillow.

Ed is instantly across the room against the wall, cowering in terror. 'What am I going to do? If Miya finds out, I'll be cut into a million pieces. If Kazahana finds out, then I'll be drowned, beat up, fed to the veggies, and then chopped up and blown to all four corners of the earth.' Ed decides to only talk about it if asked. Hey, don't ask, don't tell. Ed looks down to find he is wearing his black tank and, thank god (which he still doesn't believe in one) his pants are still on.

Ed looks around the room and finds Minato, Musubi, Tsukiumi, Uzume, and Kagari all sprawled out across the living room. Musubi and Tsukiumi are using Minato for a pillow and Uzume and Kagari are passed out on the chair and couch. Luckily, everyone still has their clothes on.

Ed's mind fully turns on. Task #1: find a bathroom. Check. Task #2: use the bathroom. Check. Task #3: find a clock and read the time. Check. Task #4: find Miya. In-progress.

This task is a lot harder than Ed thought it would be. But seeing how he can't remember anything (quite literally) from last night, it is not an easy thing. He checks her bedroom, the kitchen, the laundry room; all with no signs of Miya. Ed goes to the second floor to check if Miya was there. Still no sign of her. Almost at the point of giving up he heads back towards the steps. Once at the top of the stairs, he leans back up against the wall and slides sideways to lean against the two walls. Only one wall gives way to a room. Ed hits the floor and looks around. He finds the room is dark, except for being lit with a dozen or so monitors.

On the floor there is Miya and Matsu. Ed panics and dashes to Miya's side. Sitting her up so that she is laying half in his lap he sees that she is just sleeping and her breath mildly smelling of sake. He wraps his arms around her and rests his head on hers.

'I guess she can up here and passed out with Matsu. She looks so peaceful while sleeping. There is no hint of the hardened warrior I saw yesterday.' Ed decides to hold her until she wakes up and Ed dozes off again.

This time, it's Miya's turn to wake up with a splitting headache. She reaches up with her hands to wipe away the eye buggers and finds an arm in her way. She recognizes a pressure on her head and starts to panic. Calming herself down, she realizes that the person holding her has a metal right arm. This makes her smile.

Ed had come to find her and he did, which is impressive because she hadn't told him about this room yet. Contempt to just sit in Ed's arms for a while, she starts to carefully look over him.

The first thing she notices is his strong chest. Continuous stress and training had made his body very lean. She then turns her attention to his right arm. She runs her fingers along the cool metal and traces it from his shoulder to his fingers. She loves the arm, the contrast it brings. Warm and cold, soft and hard, kind and unforgiving. His arm represents the contrast and the contradiction that everyone faces each day.

She then traces her fingers along his jaw line. She decides that he has a strong jaw, the kind that once it's set, it doesn't move. She goes over his cheeks and cheekbones, his lips, his eyebrows. She examines every inch of his face.

She then catches a whiff of his sent. Irish Spring. The same smell he gave her hair. He marked her hair with his scent; so that no matter where they were, he would always be a part of her. The scent also made her want to watch him bathe underneath a waterfall.

Dozing off, the last thing she notes is the way he is holding her. So that he could protect her from any direction. 'Even in sleep, he tries to protect me. I made a very good choice,'

**

* * *

**

Miya wakes to something hard and cold caressing her face. She recognizes it as a finger, so she doesn't open her eyes, just allowing the finger to continue. She loves the feeling. How the touch itself if cool, but it leaves her skin feeling hot.

"mmmmmm… that feels good."

"Good morning, my angel. How did you sleep?"

"I don't think the sake helped, but this has to be the best way to wake up."

"Yeah, I couldn't imagine a better way to wake up with you in my arms."

Miya blushes at this and takes his hand. She leans up and kisses him, filling the room with a white light that makes Miya super hot.

"Come on; let's grab a bath before the others wake up."

**

* * *

**

Ed and Miya both get undressed in the washroom. Ed, not wanting to be rude, doesn't look at Miya.

"Are you embarrassed again Ed?" She asks.

"No, I just don't want you to call me a hentai like Matsu."

He feels Miya spin him around. Suddenly faced with a naked Miya, Ed nearly passes out again. Miya lowers him to the floor. Kneeling in front of him, she grasps is real hand.

"I don't want to think of my body as just mine. It's your now too." She guides Ed's hand onto one of her breasts. Ed gets a furious blush. But he actually enjoys having his hand there.

"I don't want you to be embarrassed about looking at me. I enjoy having someone to look at me, see how much effort I take in keeping in shape." Secretly, Miya is enjoying how just his touch makes her skin feel on fire.

Deciding she is right, he gives her breast a little squeeze then he retracts it and pushes himself off the floor. "Well, shall we wash each other's back?"

A smile, a real one, escapes her. "I would love to wash my Ashikabi's back."

A smirk crosses Ed's lips. "So, you don't let the others was Minato's back. But, let me guess. Your house your rules, right? You can decide to follow which ever ones you want to."

She laughs as they get into the tub to soak before washing. "That is part of it. One part is I enjoy teasing Minato about how close his Sekirei want to get to him. Another part is that his Sekirei, minus Kazahana, isn't mentally ready. Not even Matsu." Miya is leaning up against Ed as they soak in the tub and talk.

"Kazahana is the closest to me in terms of mental maturity because after being rejected by Minaka (Ed is stunned stupid for a second before recovering himself), she went and explored. Finding hardship, love, strife by observing and participating; she grew in maturity, although she may not act like it sometimes."

All the headaches from the morning seem to be melting away. They sit that was for a while; just enjoying each other's company, but eventually, they have to finish washing. "I wish they had these in Amestris. I would have loved to bathe in these, although I think part of the reason I like it so much is the company."

"Ed, can you scent my hair again? I like the smell it has." She asks Ed as they dry off.

"Sure no problem, I just use some of the air and water to makes unique smell. By the way, I have no idea I came up with the smell, but I will call it Irish Spring."

In a blue flash, Miya's hair now smells again smells of Irish Spring and makes Ed want to take another bath under a waterfall.

They finish dressing and Ed takes Miya's hand as they exit the washroom. "Come on; let's get you a real ring."

They go down to the living room where everyone but Matsu is up, or at least sitting up. As they come down the stairs, they hear a bit of conversation.

"Oh, Minato, the next time you use me as a pillow, don't try to take my nipple off, please. I'd be glad to show you them and let you use them as a pillow, but they are rather attached."

Minato slowly shakes his head. "Sorry, Kazahana, I was a body pillow last night for Musubi and Tsukiumi and I slept near the couch."

At this, Ed gives a massive blush to match a tomato.

"I was sure that someone used by breast as a pillow and I thought it was you, so I let them. Oh, well, I probably imagined it. But that still doesn't explain why my nipple is sore."

Ed can't look at anything. His head is so low that his eyes are covered by his bangs. Miya, sensing embarrassment from Ed, gives him a questioning look. Knowing what she is asking, Ed nods; his head held low. Miya gives him a reassuring pat on the arm. Ed hugs her in thanks for her understanding.

Remembering why they had come out of the washroom, he retakes Miya's hand and walks into the living room. Not looking at Kazahana in fear his blush would return, he speaks to the assembled group. "Hey, I'm getting a real ring for Miya. Does anybody have any spare gold pieces and any graphite like in pencils?"

"I have spare jewelry in my room. I'll get some." Miya leaves.

"I've got some pencils. How many to you need?"

"I will need about 20 pencils. If you don't have that many, I can improvise."

"Hang on; I've got some mechanical pencil lead. Let me get that too." Minato leaves.

Ed gets a sheet of paper and draws a complex circle on the paper. He lays the paper out on the kitchen table and waits.

Miya returns first with some jewelry and hands them to Ed. Looking over the jewelry, he asks, "Are you sure this is gold, and not just painted gold"

"My, Ed. Are you presuming that I'm a cheapskate?" A demon appears behind her.

"N…no, of course not. Not in any way. I'm just making sure, because if this is going to work, it has to be gold, not steel with gold paint."

"I'm back. I had 3 pencils and 2 dozen pieces of lead. Sorry, but that is all."

"Thanks Minato, this should be plenty. Now sit back and watch the fireworks. I'll use less energy so you can see, but it will take longer. "

Ed places the materials in the center of the drawn circle and places his hands on the table. A low blue light appears and the materials begin to float. The jewelry begins to lose cohesion and now look like a fluid.

"Right now, I'm forming the ring from the gold. I'm super heating the metal, forcing it to a liquid form." The liquid metal forms a circle and thins and becomes solid.

"And now that the size and shape are right, I rapidly cool the metal, forcing the metal to super harden far beyond the normal." Next the pencils dissolve until only the graphite in the center remains. The graphite pieces all converge at the same place and an intense light emerges from the graphite.

"I'm compressing the graphite and adding massive amounts of heat. This should consolidate the carbon inside and poof. A diamond is born."

The light fade and sitting in the middle of the circle is a gold ring with a huge diamond. Ed picks up the ring and holds it up to Miya for inspection. She takes the ring and turns it over and over, just looking at it. She spots an inscription on the inside of the band.

"To Miya, My Beloved Forever and Ever."

Miya has tears forming and buries her face in Ed' chest. Ed wraps his arms around her and puts the ring on her finger after taking the other one off.

Stunned at the ring making, the rest recover and all gather around them. All saying their congratulations and well wishes. With so many people talking at the same time, Ed catches a bit of a conversation, but can't tell who it is. "I wish I could do that", "What, make Miya cry?", "No you jack wagon! The thing he did with the ring."

* * *

End of Chapter 7


	8. Chapter 8: Memories and Severed Hands

**Chapter 8: Memories and Severed Hands **

***There will be lemon in this chapter. If you do not wish to read it, that is your choice***

The next day, at a small chapel, a private wedding is held. Takami, Minato (and his Sekirei), Kagari, Uzume, and a photographer all attended. Once the ceremony is complete, they all head back to the Izumo Inn.

Remembering something Ed's mother told him, as they approach the doorway, he scoops up Miya and carries her across the threshold. "Why did you carry me across the door?" Miya asks when she has her feet back on the ground.

"Oh, it's a tradition that people do where I come from. It signifies that I will do everything I can to help you and make you happy, even carry you."

Miya grins sadistically. "So if carrying me across the house door means all of that, does that mean I can carry you across the bedroom door?"

Ed turns scarlet at the implication. "I sure hope you don't have to."

"So, when does the party start?" Kazahana comes through the door with a bottle of sake already half empty.

Ed and Miya turn around to face her. "Don't you think two parties in a day is too much?" asks Ed.

"Ed, Kazahana has sake on tap. It takes a lot more than a single party to tire her out. But I think she is hoping for Minato to use pass out on her this time. Of course, no illicit actions are allowed here at Izumo Inn." She says with her smile behind her hand, but surprisingly no demon appears. Ed gets a subtle, yet unmistakable sharpness in Miya's voice.

"Oh come on Miya, don't pretend you're not going to be doing illicit acts now."

"Kazahana, what my husband and I do is our business, especially while you are living at our Inn." Now the demon appears, this time with less subtly and more of a "Continue and you will be losing more than a party".

Kazahana drops the matter with a very disappointed look on her face.

"Oni-chan, what does illicit mean?" Ed overhears Ku ask Minato.

Ed doesn't even hear the response as hearing "oni-chan" which means big brother brings back memories of a young girl he wasn't able to save. 'Nina.'

"I'm going out for a walk. I'll be back later." He gives Miya a kiss on the cheek and strolls out of the Inn without a second glance back, even though everyone is watching him. He just pounds the concrete, not paying attention where his feet are taking him.

He wonders around for about an hour or so before coming to a park, just thinking. Thinking about Amestris, Al, Winry, Nina, and all the people he left. He sits down and looks over the park. After a while the sun starts to set and he feels a weight on the bench beside him. He looks around to see his wife sitting next to him.

"What's wrong? And before you say nothing, remember that I know what you are feeling and I know that you are in need of someone to talk to."

Ed leans back against the back of the bench and puts his arm around Miya.

"Well, a few years ago, before I became a State Alchemist, I studied at a man's house. This man was named Shou Tucker. He was a State Alchemist who was a specialist on bio-alchemy. A few years before that he created a talking chimera."

A questioning look on Miya's face told Ed that she didn't know what a chimera was. "A chimera is an irreversible fusion of different animals. It is commonly known as the lowest form of alchemy because it requires causing pain and suffering to all kinds of animals. Tucker created one that could understand language, which is something nobody else had been able to do.

"Tucker lent his library to Al and I. While living there, we met his daughter, Nina. A very sweet little girl who played with Al and I even though she didn't know us very well. She called Al and I her "big brothers". Every year State Alchemists must submit research or prove that they are still worthy of being a State Alchemist and it was time for Tucker's renewal. So instead of figuring out a way to remain a State Alchemist, Tucker turned his own daughter into a chimera. "

Miya gasps and puts her hand to her mouth in horror.

"I didn't get it at first, but then the chimera spoke and said, "Big brother Ed, can we play now." That was the closest I have ever come to killing someone out of rage. I almost did, but Nina stopped me. All the power in the world couldn't put Nina back to the way she was. I was helpless to help her. But Nina wasn't his first one. To create the first chimera, Tucker used his wife and fused her with an animal. Then he lied to Nina and said she had gone to live with her parents to cover it up. I have never felt so useless, so unable to do something." Tears flow down Ed's cheeks as he recalls the emotions and the frustration. He turns his head and looks away.

"So that's what you meant when you said that your side of the Gate has done things far worse. That must have been painful to go through." She turns his face toward her and she lays her head on his chest. They sit there a minute when a couple walks into view.

The first thing that Ed notices is that this girl is carrying an enormous hammer. Second thing is that this girl looks very beat up and her clothes are filthy. Third is that the man walking in front of her seems to be yelling at her. Ed watches in fury as the man suddenly turns around and smacks her in the face hard enough to make her stagger.

"Miya," Ed gets her attention and his voice hardens and becomes razor sharp. "She is a Sekirei, right?"

Miya takes one look and nods. "Then that must be her Ashikabi. I want to kick his ass so bad. Then we should take her back to the Inn. It may be abducting, but at least she can get some clean clothes, a bath, and get away from this fucker."

Miya nods again in agreement and they get up and follow the couple.

"… I'm sorry Juichi-sama. It won't happen again."

"Hey, that kid is a Sekirei, right? Go and get him now."

"Yes, Juichi-sama"

She runs off to a young girl in yellow dress and short, grey hair. She stops for a second, and then raises her hammer and attacks. The girl in the dress dodges all attacks and doesn't even raise a fist.

"Bitch! Don't just klutz around. Fight!" He then slaps her in the face again.

Just as Ed and Miya arrive, another woman comes and shouts to the girl in the dress. "Shiina! Take her out!"

"WAIT!"

Everyone stops and looks at Ed and Miya. "There is no need to fight. You" Ed points at Juichi. "Are a despicable person. What kind of man beats a woman and gets satisfaction out of it."

"Yashima. Kill this cockroach."

Yashima looks conflicted for a second and Juichi starts to raise his hand again.

"If you touch her again and you will lose that hand."

"Is that so? Yashima, you know what will happen if you don't kill this cockroach. So do it!"

Yashima reluctantly lifts her hammer and attack Ed. As Ed prepares to move, Miya moves in front of Ed, into Yashima's path. Yashima swings her hammer and in a flash, too fast for Ed to keep up with, Miya slices the hammer in half and cuts it off at the shaft.

Ed turns to Miya, "Where did you keep that?"

A private smile and Miya turns slightly so Ed can see the smile. "I'll show you later." Ed turns bright red when…

"Yashima, you weakling! Now you've done it!" Juichi races forward and grabs her hair at the base of her head and pushes her to the ground. He is about to slam her head into the ground when rushes forward with burring speed. She takes her sword and flicks her wrist. Juichi looks to see his hand go flying off before the pain reaches his brain.

"I told you that if you touch her that you would lose that hand, didn't I?"

"Do you always hide behind your woman?"

Ed walks up behind Miya and hugs her from behind. "No, she just got here before me. And believe me; she is more lenient than I am right now." Ed walks forward and gets in Juichi's face. "Now, we are walking away with Yashima. If I see you again, I will kill you." To make his point, Ed transmutes his arm into his signature blade and presses it against his throat. Juichi's eyes widen in fear. Satisfied that his threat made its impact, Ed stands up, re-transmutes his arm and turns to Yashima.

"Come on. We are going. You don't have to see this fucker ever again."

Ed then looks at the two girls across the park. "If you wish, you can come over for some tea. I'm sure Miya won't mind if we have some guests."

The two girls look at each other and nod and come over to Ed and Miya. They all begin to walk away, but Yashima is frozen in place. A demon appears in front of her and it spurs her along.

"No, I will not lose her." Juichi pulls out a knife and runs at Ed. He is a few feet away when a jet of water comes out of nowhere and breaks his knife. He looks up to see a blonde woman on top of an obelisk. "Do you know no shame? Attacking someone behind their back is a coward's tactic. You have no right to be an Ashikabi. If I ever see you again, I too will also kill you. Pray you never do." She turns and prepares to jump away, but turns back. "Oh, and you might want to get to a hospital before they can't reattach your hand."

With that, she jumps and disappears behind a line of trees in the direction of the group. Tsukiumi catches up easily enough. She emerges from the tree line just ahead of the group and waits for them.

"Thanks for protecting Ed, Tsukiumi. I hate people who feel they are entitled to anything they want. I hope he has learned his lesson."

"Oh, well, I too hate people like that. I was just in the neighborhood and saw the fight. I have to go now and find Minato. He went out with Kusano a while ago and hasn't come back yet."

"Wait, you mean Minato Sahashi and Kusano, number 108?" the girl in the school outfit asks.

"Yes, why?"

The girls look at each other in disbelief. They turn to Tsukiumi and shout, "Take us to them!"

Getting the wrong idea, Tsukiumi steps forward going to "protector" mode. "What business do you have with Minato? Answer quickly!"

One of the girls looks a little bashful. "Sorry, my name is Shiina, number 107. Ku and I grew up together and this is Yukari Sahashi, Minato's sister. We have been looking for Ku for a while and I was hoping that she was the last un-winged, but I guess that monster got his hands on her."

"Don't go judging things like that before you actually know what happened. I thought that every Ashikabi was vile and cruel and forced themselves on us, but Minato changed my mind. Ku reached out to him in a dream. She chose him. It was her who kissed him. We all chose him, well minus me. He told me that I was his Sekirei, but he would never wing someone without their permission."

"Wait, you said 'we'. How many Sekirei does he have?" asks Yukari.

"Well, including me, he has 5, but I am the real wife. We have been living at the Izumo Inn for a while now. Miya here is our landlady."

Yukari and Shiina's mouths drop to the floor. "He must be the Ashikabi of the North. I had no idea. I thought he was just a wimp, but if he has winged 5 of you. Hmm, this requires further investigation. Would you please take us to Minato?"

Ed looks at Shiina closely for the first time. "Wait, Shiina. You're a guy?"

Shiina's face goes hot rod red and he fidgets uncomfortably. "Well, yes. Yukari said I should use this as a disguise. People have been chasing us for a while now. It is pretty itchy and embarrassing to walk around in."

"Well, we should probably be going. It's getting late and we need to find Minato. I will see you back at the Inn." Tsukiumi, Yukari, and Shiina all walk off.

Miya and Ed take Yashima back to the Inn. They arrive well after dark. When they get inside, Musubi greets them and tells them that Katsuragi left the Inn and hasn't come back yet.

"Oh, well. I didn't think she would stay here all that long. Anyways, Yashima, you can sleep with Kazahana. I'm sure she won't mind having a bunk mate. I don't want you to think of this as a prison. We just want you to see that no person, even your Ashikabi, has the right to treat you like that. Maybe seeing how Ashikabi's should behave will change your mind."

Yashima gives a nod. "Anyways, I will go make dinner."

After dinner Ed and Miya everyone is relaxing in the living room. "Hey, what happened with Hotaru? You guys never explained it."

Ed and Miya look at each other and Ed shrugs. "Well, after Miya and I kissed we signaled for Hotaru to meet us at the Communications tower near her. We arrived first and talked for a bit and then Hotaru showed up. Miya could tell something was wrong and as soon as we turned our backs to her, she attacked us because she wanted me to be her Ashikabi and wasn't willing to share me with Miya.

"Miya fought, well fought isn't right. Miya never took a swing at her. She kept Hotaru busy while I came up with a plan to sedate her. During the fight, Hotaru grabbed the blade end of Miya's sword and heated it up, which resulted in Miya's burnt hands, which I find amazing that they are already healed."

"Sekirei have very fast metabolisms and an accelerated healing rate. One time my whole body was burned and it took a few days with Matsu's ointment for me to heal." This came from Kagari.

"Good to know. Anyways, long story short, I trapped Hotaru against a wall and knocked her out using alchemy. She won't wake until I let her, so she won't be a problem. She lost her mind, I mean lost it. I don't know who she will be when she wakes up."

"That is really sad. I hope she is ok."

Ed and Miya nod and look sadly at Hotaru. Bidding the others good night, Ed and Miya retire to their room.

**

* * *

**

Ed wakes up the next morning and finds himself naked on a futon. He rolls to his side and sees his bride sleeping next to him, just as naked. Her hair is a tangled and in her face. He uses his flesh hand to move the offending hairs.

As he looks at her, his mind begins to wonder back to the previous night.

**

* * *

**

_Ed closes the door behind him. He looks to see that Miya has already laid out a futon for two. _

_"Are you sure about this? I mean, we met just a few days ago. I don't want to make you feel like I'm forcing you to do anything you don't want to."_

_Ed looks at the ground and looks up when Miya stands in front of his. She takes off her robe, leaving her topless. She then takes off her skirt and underwear. Now standing completely nude in front of him, she moves forward and hugs him. She speaks into his ear (or as close as she can get as she is a good 4 inches shorter)._

_"I told you not to think of my body as just mine anymore. You share the same feelings I do. If I didn't want to do something, then I would tell you and if you insisted, then I won't do it. I have a free mind. You haven't forced me to do anything. Now that you are my husband, I think very highly of your opinions. So, enough with the self doubt."_

_Stunned a little by her words, he returns the hug. He looks down at her and right then decided that this is the woman he wants to lie to old age with. _

_He bends down and takes her lips with his. New to this, he tries something. He prods her lips with his tongue and gains entrance into her mouth. He feels her amusement at this and his tongue starts its exploration. Ed guides them to the futon and they just stand there for a while. Miya's tongue fights back._

_Miya lifts his shirt over his head and then reengages the face eating. Ed, not wanting for her suggestion of her commanding the bedroom to be come true, wraps his arms around her middle and pulls her close. Her breasts come into contact with his chest and his loves the feeling. They are big, but not monstrous, like Musubi and Kazahana's._

_He lowers Miya to the ground and lays his right hand on her breast getting a gasp from her. He begins to massage her breast which increases her breathing. The cold making her nipples very hard and Ed plays with it. Seeing the response he gets from playing with her nipple, Ed remembers his "run in" with Kazahana and switches his mouth to her nipple._

_Miya arches her back and lets out a low moan. Taking the hint, Ed massages one breast and sucks lightly on the other. He finds supreme satisfaction out of playing with her breasts and getting responses out of her. His other hand roams her body, making her body go almost into convulsions from the cold metal. She loves the feeling she gets when his cold hand passes over her skin making it cold then her body making the spot hot. _

_Miya is in total bliss right now. Her body is receiving so much input, that her brain is in overload right now. Ed lifts his head back to her lips and lays full on her. She flips him over and straddles him. She runs her fingers over his hardened muscles and the metal plates. She works her hands from his deltoids to his triceps and back to his abdomen, all without braking contact with his lips._

_She maneuvers her hands to his belt buckle and removes it. She then opens up his pants and literally tears his boxers and pants off of him. A little frightened by this display of strength, he attempts to roll her over, but she resists. All that happens is they end up fighting for domination and Ed finds himself on his back with his hands pinned over his head. _

_He looks down at Miya and finds her face flush with his. "Now be a good boy and just relax." She lightens up on his hands and begins to kiss his collar bone and his jaw line. _

_"I don' think so." Ed moves his hands out from her grasp and puts them on her waist and flips her over. Now it is her turn to be pinned. He kisses her and she wraps her arms around his strong back and pulls him as close as possible. _

_Their genitals are burning with anticipation. Ed breaks the kiss and looks in Miya's eyes. "Are you ready?"_

_"Are you? I've had a husband before."_

_"Wait a second." Ed sits up and looks around the room. Not spotting anything of the right materials, he grabs his hair band and transmutes it into a condom. He struggles a little to put it on, but in a few seconds later, he is all geared up._

_Without any further hesitation, he positions himself and enters her folds. He lets out a grunt and slowly pushes in until his cock is all the way in. Miya gasps when he hits her spot. Ed starts out slow and is in heaven. Miya's walls around his cock and her warmth all contribute to complete bliss. Before long Ed speeds up. _

_Miya has to put her hand over her mouth to keep from being too loud. His thrusting was driving her crazy. She needs more. She puts her legs around him and pulls him deeper into her. Her movements are becoming erratic as her climax builds. With a scream she hits her climax so powerfully that her body quivers and shakes. Ed, meanwhile keeps going, forcing Miya into random spasms. In one of these spasms, her body pushes down while Ed is thrusting resulting in the deepest penetration yet. _

_With a groan/grunt Ed loses control and cums. At the end of their almost simultaneous climaxes, Ed lays there on top of Miya, both catching their breaths. Miya's arms snake around Ed and holds him close. After a few minutes and with effort, Ed rolls off of her and pulls off the used condom and transmutes it into vapor. He then spoons up next to Miya and whispers in her ear. "I love you. Don't ever leave me."_

_"I would never dream of it. Didn't I say forever and many years to come mantra? I meant what I said."_

_"I know you did, but I don't ever want to lose you. You have become precious to me and not just because I had sex with you. But that is part of it. No matter what happens, you were my first and I will always remember it."_

_Miya rolls over to face him. Ed reaches his left arm around her and pulls her too him and holds her against his chest. "I'm not going anywhere. I will never leave your side."_

_Ed kisses the top of Miya's head and they both drift to sleep._

**

* * *

**

Ed reaches the end and finds that he has been stroking her face unconsciously. Miya's eyes flutter open and looks at Ed.

"Good morning beautiful. How did you sleep?"

She responds by reaching up and kisses him. "How do you think? It's funny how a little physical activity can help you sleep. Of course, night isn't the only time for physical activity, but not today. I've got to get breakfast made."

"Aww. Do you have to?" Ed gives her a pitiful look.

"You know, that expression will get you nowhere. You can make it up to me by helping in the kitchen."

"What do I owe you? I was the one who remembered the condom and now I need a new hair tie. So if anything, you owe me."

Miya gets up and begins to get dressed. "Hmmmm, you may be right. Well, while the others are eating, we can take a bath together and do some "extra-curricular" activities."

Ed gets up and also begins to dress. "Oooh, I like the sounds of that. We will have to make a list of all the things we can do by staying late for the teacher."

Miya scoffs at this. "I will obviously be the teacher. You still have much to learn, grasshopper."

"Oh really, I had you screaming last night. Sounds like my first attempt was a success."

"Well, you are a bit more well well-endowed than Takehito was. You also seem to have a specialty in teasing my breasts. Did you learn that from Kazahana?"

Ed hits the floor at that comment. Miya lets a rare out loud laugh. "Ok, that was a complete accident. That was my first taste of alcohol and sake isn't the best choice for a newbie. I had no idea it was her. I would never do that to you on purpose."

Miya, now fully dressed, helps Ed off the ground. "I knew it was an accident from the fantastic blush and the embarrassed look on your face. Besides, it helped last night. So I don't mind, just don't do it again."

Ed half expects to see her demon appear, but realizes she doesn't need it right now. She hugs him, gives him a quick kiss, then leaves to start breakfast. He finishes dressing and follows her out.

"Hey Miya."

"Yes Ed?"

"I found your crest."

* * *

End of Chapter 8


	9. Chapter 9: Calm Before the Storm

Thanks to all who have reviewed this story and a reminder for those who haven't to please do so. I would love to hear your thoughts, good and bad. Thanks!

**Chapter 9: Calm Before the Storm**

A week has gone by with nothing major happening. Ed woke Hotaru up a few days earlier and with the help of Miya, Minato, and the others helped her understand what had happened and keeping her from getting violent. Meanwhile, Yashima is slowly becoming more open and starting to enjoy herself. Ed made her a new set of clothes and the bruises that Juichi left are fading.

"I didn't know that such a bond like that existed. I've heard stories, but my experience was so different."

"That's why you couldn't fight well. A Sekirei's fighting ability is based on skill, but also on the strength of the bond between their Ashikabi. Look at Minato. All his Sekirei are growing stronger as fighters every day. Because they choose him and he is so kind to them. That makes them love him all the more. He cares for them, cries for them, worries about them. My husband is my Ashikabi. We may have just met a little over a week ago, but our bond is so close, much deeper than with my other husband before he died."

When Miya trails off the last sentence, Yashima looks at her. "Um, Miya. Can I ask a favor from you?"

"Yes. What is it?"

"Would you train me? I know you have no reason to, but if I can't rely on my bond with Juichi-sama, then I have to be self-reliant. I just hope that he will come around. I can sense your power. It is palpable. So, please train me!"

A profound look of sadness comes across her face. Miya takes notice. "You miss him don't you? You almost miss his abuse because that is the only time he pays attention to you, right? Is that because you love him or because he is your Ashikabi?"

Yashima starts to cry. She cries at how well this woman who has known her for a week can read her like a children's book. Miya pulls her closer and lets her cry on her shoulder. This goes on for a few minutes. Eventually the tears dry up and Yashima pulls away from Miya.

"If he comes back here for me, will you really kill him?"

"I will if he acts the same way when we left him. But, if he has a change of heart and respects you, then no I won't kill him. I know Ed won't, but I don't know about Tsukiumi. She has always been a stickler for nobility. So, the question is, if Tsukiumi does decide to kill him, what will you do about it?"

Yashima thinks about it for a second. "I would defend him. No matter what he has done, he still is my Ashikabi. He is precious to me. He can't learn to be different if he is dead."

Miya nods her head at her answer. "If you do leave here with him, just know that our door is always open. If he even thinks of hitting you, then you should return here. We will protect you." Miya remembers Yashima's earlier request. "And yes, I will train you. I will have Ed make you another hammer, but this training will not be easy. I'll have him double the weight of your hammer."

Yashima's eyes bug out. "Double the weight! It took me years just to be able to use the one I had! Ugghh, what did I get myself into now?"

**ooooooooo**

As requested, Ed, Miya, Yashima, Musubi, Tsukiumi, Kagari, Hotaru, and Matsu all meet in next door. Ed and Miya had purchased a couple of plots next to the Inn and Ed had used the houses are material in creating a training facility. It has 1 main gymnasium that has padding along all walls and the floor is made of a rubbery substance with several smaller rooms for personal training with mirrors on the walls. It also has separate showers, a weight room, a class room (for Ed's use), a weapon storage room, and a drain in every room on the first floor. The second floor also has several spare bedrooms as Izumo Inn is getting crowded.

Ed also created a covered breeze way between the two buildings and Ku, Minato, and Musubi planted a garden all along the path. Ed had kept with the same architectural style as the Inn and made the gym the same way. When it was completed, Ed turned to Miya and said, "Well, at the very least we can change the name is Izumo Inn and Fitness Center now."

"For the first day of training no weapon or elements are allowed, just hand to hand. Pair up. Ed your with me, Hotaru your with Yashima, Kagari your with Matsu, and Tsukiumi your with Musubi. This is to improve physical strength, speed, and your endurance. Don't injure anybody as that would defeat the purpose of sparing, and Ed, no alchemy."

"Aw, you spoil my fun."

"We will break after 5 or 10 minutes. Good luck."

Everyone gets set and attacks. Ed leaps at Miya and does a slide tackle. Miya easily back flips over Ed's slide and lands right next to where Ed stops. Sensing movement Ed crosses his arms over his head to block Miya's strike at his head. Gathering his feet under him, Ed springs up and does a couple of kicks in mid air and blocks one of her kicks. This pushes Ed back a few feet, but it doesn't fade him. He then launches himself at her, fists swinging with kicks in a dizzying show of athleticism. One of his feet connect with her arm as she circles him and using his momentum against him, sends him flying.

Ed would have landed on his head, had he not done a one handed back spring. Landing on his feet he finds himself on the defensive. Miya does a half front flip, lands on her hands and spins with her legs parallel to the ground. Ed, knowing he is in trouble, tries to get under her legs, but in the process leaves himself open. She sees the opening and springs up, using her momentum spins in midair and hits Ed square on the chest, causing him to hit the floor with her sitting on his chest, arms raised to finish him.

Ed, now pinned, tries to push her off, but finds her thighs pressed against his sides, almost to the point where he can't breathe. "Alright, you win," as he taps her thigh in submission. She eases off and Ed looks up at Miya leaning over him and finds her with a private smile. She looks incredibly sexy with her smile and her hair now lose and falling over her shoulders and onto him.

They stay there for a minute before Miya gets up and helps him up. Ed looks around and finds the others are still going at it. Ed puts an arm around Miya. "You know, it's kinda embarrassing to be the first one down."

"You did ok. Keep in mind that you're not a Sekirei and at a disadvantage when fighting us. But you have incredible speed for a human. Plus you were fighting the strongest Sekirei, so lasting as long as you did was actually a good thing."

"Remind me not to make you mad."

Miya steps forward, produces a whistle from out of nowhere, and stops everyone with a single blow. 'I'm going to half to find out where she hides all this stuff. I didn't see a bit of it while we were sparring. That should be fun. Poking around Miya's clothes while they still on.' Ed grins at the idea and wonders just how many items he will find.

"Alright, that's good for now. Good job. If you're not sweating, you're not trying hard enough."

"You're not sweating," someone pointed out.

A sly look to Ed. "As I said, I wasn't trying very hard." She looks back towards the group. "Now, each day, I will give private lessons to one of you. We will start with Matsu today. Kagari will be tomorrow. I will have Ed draw up a schedule later today. Good job. Same time tomorrow. If you want to work out some more, feel free, but no elements. We don't want to rebuild this gym right after we built it."

Matsu heads off to the private room. Yashima and Hotaru square off again. The rest hit the showers. Ed walks up behind Miya and puts his arms around her waist and puts his chin on her shoulder. "So, when is my private lesson?"

"Hey, you get one practically every night. You don't need any additional encouragement. I can train you anytime. Right now, I need to go teach Matsu. She needs the most help because she doesn't have super strength or speed so she needs skill more than anything, but I have confidence that she can do it. Any idea when you can start giving me you're promised alchemy lessons?"

"Well, I would like a little more time to get better chemistry and physics books. And speaking of that, I'm meeting with a chemistry professor at Minato's college tomorrow. Hopefully I can get a job there and keep my skills sharp and learn about new things. I need to go make Yashima's hammer now. How heavy do you want it for her training?"

"At least double of what it was. The point is to get her to be able to swing that hammer faster and stronger and best way to do that is to make it heavier, as you know. So, you go make her hammers and I will go train Matsu for about an hour or so." Miya slips out of Ed's grasp, gives him a kiss, then starts to walk off to the practice room when Ed grabs her hand and pulls her in close, his face at her ear.

"I still haven't found out where you hide all these items. I may have to strip search you later."

Miya smiles and pulls the back of his head closer to speak in his ear. "I look forward to it, but I may be doing the searching."

"Oh, you think so? Well, remember this: I can be very tough to beat with the proper motivation and searching you is definitely a motivator."

"We shall see about that and remember this: I wasn't trying all that much today. So bring it on, science boy. Oh, and remind Musubi to start dinner around 5 or so."

Miya reaches up to kiss him again and squirms out of his grip for the second time. "Don't forget!"

'Yeah, which part?"

He waves at her and he retrieves Yashima from her sparring match with Hotaru, who avoids eye contact with him. Pilling spare parts, he gets the dimensions, weight, and what is was made out of her original hammer. After completing the original, Yashima tests it out. Ed makes some adjustment that Yashima said was wrong. With the original done, Ed makes an exact copy of the hammer, except makes the core out of lead, a very dense metal, and the shaft out of titanium with carbon fibers to support the additional weight of the hammer.

Yashima tries to lift the hammer from the handle with little success. When she finally does get it off the ground, she is so unstable that she stumbles backwards and nearly crushes Hotaru. "Maybe we should wait for Miya to teach you how to compensate for the extra weight." With that, Yashima picks up the hammer from the head and places it on the ground in the storage closet and Ed hits the showers.

**ooooooooo**

"OWW! Be gentle!"

"Sorry, the spear went completely through your base of your hand. You're lucky it didn't cut any tendons. Now if you don't sit still, I can't change the bandage and it will get infected and then you will lose the hand."

"Damn that kid and his Sekirei. He was just getting to the good part."

"Well, next time, don't kidnap someone who is personal friends with #01. And she didn't come for him. She came for you, the way I hear it. Think about this. You had him awake and telling you things for how long?"

"I had him awake for 2 hours before we were so rudely interrupted."

"And how mush relevant information about his power did you get?"

Minaka stops for a second. "I didn't get a single shred of evidence to how his power works. Damn that kid. He was stalling the whole time, hoping to get rescued. He will pay for that. You attended his wedding, did you not?"

"I did. Why?"

"Because I have a feeling that very soon, he will be crying in anguish."

'What do you have planned? Whatever it is, it can't be good. I have to let them know as soon as I'm out of here.'

"There, I'm done. Don't try to anything with that hand for another few weeks until I tell you that your hand is ready for use."

She turns to take her leave from Minaka's office.

"One more thing Takami-kun. If you even think about letting them know what I have in store, you will get a visit from Karasuba."


	10. Chapter 10: Under Attack

**Chapter 10**: **Under Attack**

"I don't like it. It's too quite in the city. We should have expected some response from MBI from now."

"Yeah, it's weird. I was sure Minaka was going to want revenge. The fact that he hasn't yet just goes to show that he isn't completely stupid. An outright attack on the Inn would result in massive damage."

"What we need is a way to end this "game". After that, we take out Minaka or he may just initiate the whole thing over again."

Ed, Miya, Minato, and Homura sit around the gym watching the others train. Miya now allows the minimal use of weapons. They are watching Yashima fight Tsukiumi. In the two weeks since they started training, Yashima seems to have complete control of the weighed down hammer, which is good for the floor, which Ed has had to fix multiple times.

Also, Ed has begun to teach alchemy to Miya. She With Ed's tutorship, Miya is almost ready to start to transmute very simple objects.

"We need a plan in case the worst is to happen, which is all the other Ashikabi's come after us." Ed says continuing the conversation.

Just then, Kagari's phone goes off. "Hold on, I got an e-mail."

He opens his phone and reads the e-mail. "Shit!"

They all look at him. "What's wrong?"

"This e-mail is from Takami. It is our emergency contact line. We only use it if we are being watched and can't get a normal message out."

"Is she in danger? What happened?"

"I don't know. This e-mail is only to designate a drop point. It doesn't contain any actual information in case it is intercepted, and even the location is hidden in code. It looks like two days from now at Shinjuku Gyoen Garden under an ashtray located 20 meters from the West exit. We won't know anything until then."

"I hope she is alright. How will she keep the meet point a secret?"

"The system we developed uses a week's worth of time. For her, she will walk to work, going through different parks. At each, she takes out a cigarette and smokes for a minute or so and then deposits the message at a specified ashtray. For me it is the same, but going to the club and getting something to eat and having the message at a trashcan. I never thought that we would actually need to use it though."

"We need a plan, now more than ever, but we need information before we make anything conclusive."

Everyone nods in agreement and they head off to Matsu's room. Once there they fill her in and the planning begins.

**

* * *

**

Uzume walk down the hallway with her Ashikabi, Chiho, at Hiyamakai Hospital.

"I'm really happy you came by. I get lonely with no one here to visit me."

"Don't worry about it Chiho. I like your smile, so will do whatever it takes to make it appear."

Uzume speeds up pushing Chiho's wheelchair slightly and laughs. This gets Chiho laughing too.

Uzume takes Chiho to the roof since Chiho likes to look up at the sky and imagine. And she does just that. Uzume giggles at her expression.

"Did I ever tell you how glad I am that you're my Ashikabi?"

"I don't know why. I can't do anything for you with my sickness."

Uzume kneels down in front of her and takes her hands. "You don't have to anything except fight this sickness and get better. That is enough for me."

Chiho blushes at this and recalls a conversation they had a while back.

_Chiho is sitting up in her bed and smiling as Uzume does a little performance in one of her costumes. When she finishes, Chiho smiles and claps happily._

_"Thank you Uzume-chan. You always know how to cheer me up."_

_"It's all for you and your smile."_

_Chiho looks down at her hands. "You know Uzume-chan, if it weren't' for you, I would probably be dead."_

_"Where are these thoughts coming from? You shouldn't think that way."_

_"I'm serious. After my parents died, I had nothing. I lost our house and everyone that cared about me. Then you came along. You give me purpose to live. To get healthy so I can leave this hospital with you." She takes Uzume's hands in hers and rubs her cheek against them._

_Uzume is touched by her words. "You gave me purpose to. I was born into a world where the only option was to fight, and I wasn't going to participate. I had no reason to live or to have been born. Then I met you and I decided that you are worth fighting for."_

_Chiho sheds a tear and closes her eyes and starts to drift off to sleep. "Come on. I'll tuck you in."_

_As Chiho settles under the covers, she whispers something right before she falls asleep. "Thank you Uzume-chan. You are the most important thing in this world."_

"How touching."

Uzume looks up and sees a tall woman standing on the safety fence.

"What do you want? I'm kinda busy right now."

Uzume turns away back toward Chiho. Hearing a rush of wind, Uzume pushes Chiho out of the way and blocks just in time are the woman attacks.

"#18, Ichiya. Now we fight."

Ichiya rushes in and Uzume is forced to back away. Shedding her clothes in record time, she unfurls her veils. "Uzume-chan, what's going on?"

"Don't worry Chiho, this won't take long."

Uzume launches her veils at Ichiya who dodges under then and rushes in. Throwing several kicks at Uzume, Ichiya then leaps up and does her impression of a drill with her legs. Uzume backs up, side-steps and plants a kick right in Ichiya's face sending her into the fence. "Not bad, but this isn't over."

"Uzume-chan, look out!"

A second Sekirei appears behind Uzume and attacks. Uzume is forced on the defensive having to dodge a lance. Uzume uses her veils to grab the lance pull the newcomer toward her. Working a veil into a spiral, Uzume unleashes her Shawl Lance technique almost taking the arm off of the other Sekirei.

Having both opponents down, she walks over to the second opponent. "Who are you and why are you here?"

"I am #20, Mizuki. Our orders came from…"

"Uzume-chan; look out!"

"You're not getting off that easily. Daichi Kirikuzusu (_Earth Breaker_)!

Ichiya slams her fist into the ground causing the surface to move like water. Then the ground splits in half and causes half the roof to cave in and the other half to balloon up. Uzume leaps back onto the ledge over the fence and looks just in time to see Chiho on top of the ballooned ground.

"Chiho!"

Uzume springs up to save Chiho, but falls into a trap. She is kicked from below and then stabbed from behind. As she falls to the ground the balloon pops, sending Chiho over the fence. "No, Chiho!"

Chiho closes her eyes and accepts her death. She saw Uzume get stabbed in the back without warning trying to save her and tears well up. Just when she thinks it's all over, clothes wrap around her and slow her decent considerably. Opening her eyes, she sees Uzume's veils wrapped around her and lowering her to the ground and Uzume with a smile on her face.

Once on the ground, Uzume sits Chiho up against a wall and collapses on the ground. "Uzume-chan! Uzume-chan! Wake up!"

"I'm here, Chiho. I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you."

Chiho has tears welling up in her eyes and pulls Uzume with all her might into her lap. "Don't go Uzume-sama. Don't leave me alone."

"Sorry Chiho. I couldn't keep my promise. Just promise me that you will find something to live for, ok. Maybe we will see each other again. Listen to me. Chiho, I don't regret anything that has happened, not one bit. I don't want you to have any regrets either. Ok?"

Chiho is now weeping, holding on tightly to Uzume. "No, don't go! I don't want to be left alone again. Please Uzume-sama!"

Uzume reaches up and strokes her face. "Don't forget, I love you. Don't …forget it."

Uzume's hand drops and her Sekirei crest disappears. Chiho lets out a scream and hugs Uzume to her all the more.

**

* * *

**

At the Inn, Kagari gets a call and answers it.

"Hello. What! When? …How…Is she alright? I'm coming over to see her now. Ok. Thanks. Bye."

Everyone is looking at him. "It seems that Uzume won't be coming home." Everyone gasps and Ed pulls Miya to him. She lets silent tears fall.

"She was at the hospital with her Ashikabi and they were ambushed by two Sekirei. She lost her crest while saving her Ashikabi. I'm going over there now to check on her." Kagari gets up.

"Wait, this could be part of Minaka's plan. Take another Sekirei with you. From now on, nobody goes alone, even us Ashikabi's. Got it?" Ed's voice is very stressed. Everyone nods and Kagari gets up and leaves the room.

"I think we need to take a break. Thanks for helping out Matsu. For now let's just keep this between us for now."

Ed leads Miya out into the hallway and down the stairs to their bedroom. Just at the bottom of the stairs, they see Kagari leaving with Kazahana. Miya rushes over to Kagari and hugs him. "Be careful out there. We don't know what to expect, so please, just come back in one piece." Not sure how to respond, he slowly puts his hands on Miya's back and returns the hug. He nods to Kazahana and they both leave.

Upon closing the door to their room, Ed sits on the ground and pulls Miya into his lap. Cradling her, she openly weeps on Ed's shoulder. Ed gently rocks her as she lets it all out. Eventually the tears dry up and Ed looks down and smiles at her. "Better now?"

Miya nods her head and wraps Ed in a hug, just holding him to her. They sit like this for a while before Miya lets go and Ed helps her to her feet. "We have to let the others know if they don't know already. I will have Matsu draw up a contract to have security cameras installed around the perimeter and have her watching with the satellite for most of the day until we know more."

"Good ideas. I would help, but I know virtually nothing about electronics. They are 100 years more advanced than Amestris."

"That's ok, you help in other ways." Miya goes over to Ed and bends down and wraps her arms from behind. "I don't want to imagine this without your support. Uzume was so dear to me. The only person who has lived here for longer is Kagari. We have to get her back."

"We will. It may be a while. But damn that man. Attacking her in front of her Ashikabi like that. Does that man have no sense of honor?"

"Look at what he has done. He has toyed with the lives of all of us and our Ashikabi's. He kidnapped you and uses his private army for his own personal goals. He has placed every inhabitant of Tokyo in danger by not allowing us to leave and forcing us to fight. That man has no values, no morals. Someone has to remove him from power, by force if necessary."

Ed gets up off the floor. "You know that I am behind you 100%, If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. When Kagari gets back we can meet again and come up with a counter attack. But your right and we need to tell the others. They are probably waiting."

Miya nods and they leave to tell the others the terrible news.

**

* * *

**

Night time falls and Takami is sitting in her office chair smoking. 'I need a new job. God, it's turning my hair grey.'

She had made the drop that morning and hoped Homura had gotten it. She leans back and stares at the ceiling. All of a sudden a face appears in front of hers.

Takami shoots out of her chair and wheels around to face the person. "God Karasuba, don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry, but I wanted to see what you were up to."

"Besides getting the piss scared out of me, just thinking. We had a level 4 injury today and I was thinking about the injury and the best way to help her."

"Is that so? Well, I'm also here on official business."

A very cold chill runs down Takami's spine. "Official business huh. Well, what do you need?"

"I've been told to escort you to the head honcho's office. Huph, now they have me as a messenger girl. What next, toilet scrubber? Well, if you're not busy, I guess now would be a good time. Can't keep the boss man waiting too much."

"Karasuba, I've kept that insufferable man at bay for 18 years. He can wait a few more minutes. Here, why don't you have a drink with me?"

Karasuba thinks for a second. "Yeah, I guess you're right. What do you have?"

Not many people know that Karasuba has a hobby: collecting vintage scotch. But this is a special drink, a very special drink. Takami has had this in her desk drawer for a long time for such an occasion.

"It is a 1995 Bailie Nicol Jarvie. I've had it for a while and thought that you would appreciate this."

"Well, your right about that." Takami takes out two glasses and pours the drinks.

"Cheers."

Karasuba swirls her scotch and takes a swig. "Wow, this is really good. There is something else in here that I can't quite identify, but it makes the drink taste…all the better." Karasuba grabs the edge of the desk to keep from falling over.

"Oh, that. That is a little something I added. It is a very potent drug guaranteed to put even a Sekirei out of commission for a while, oh and there is no antidote. Only time will purge your body. Now, if you don't mind, I have a few animals to feed at home. Good night, sweet dreams."

Takami grabs her bags and heads out of her office and takes the elevator down to the garage where her driver and car are waiting. She gets in and tells the driver to take her home. The car gets into gear and leaves the building.

"That was cleaver Takami-kun. Using Karasuba's hobby to your advantage, exactly what I expect of you." Minaka says from the front seat.

Takami's eyes bulge in surprise as her former lover turns around in the seat (literally) to face her. He sits cross legged with his feet in the chair to face her, not even wearing a seatbelt. He puts his hand around the chair and reveals a pistol pointed right at her chest.

'Well, the doors are not locked and he isn't wearing a seatbelt, so when we take a turn, his aim will be slightly off and unstable. I'll let them get a little closer to the Inn before I make my move. I've got to stall.'

"Looks like you got me. Now, what are you pointing a gun at me of all people at for?"

Minaka splits a manacle grin. "You know what I'm talking about. You did the exact thing I told you not to do. You contacted Homura."

Takami mocks surprise. "You are pointing a gun at me for telling a friend that someone he lives with isn't going to be coming home? You are really something, you know that. If hadn't called him, he would have thought something is amiss because I always inform him of important things that he regularly spends time with."

Minaka's toothy sneer gets bigger. He reaches behind the seat and pulls out a screen. He hits the play button and it shows her in the garden that morning from a downward angle. She pulls out a cigarette, lights it, smokes it for a while, and then throws it into a trash can with an ash tray on top. But it clearly shows her taking her time in throwing the cigarette away.

'Ok, I could have done that a bit smoother.'

"I know you put something in that trash can or under the ash tray. Your watcher didn't find anything suspicious about it and by the time we got there to retrieve your message, it was already picked up."

Takami fake laughs. "Did you ever think that there is no message, that you and your wild imagination have ran amuck in your twisted brain?"

Minaka raises the gun and gets a very serious look on his face. "I know because you have been smoking for 20 years. And people who have been smoking for that long know not to put a live cigarette into a trash can as that can start a fire. You dropped something off."

'Well, so much for the stalling. Next turn, I'm out of here.'

Takami has had her hands in her purse the whole time, her forefinger and thumb gently grasping a small object. Then next turn was perfect, a little hard and Takami crushes the object, causing a bright light and a very loud bang. The car screeches to a halt. The moment the car has stopped, Takami takes her bags and runs for it.

**

* * *

**

Homura is out in the city with Tsukiumi patrolling the northern sector of the city to any signs of the Inn being watched and also to act as an early warning system. They jump from rooftop to rooftop just wandering around, when his phone rings.

"Hello. You what? Where are you? Ok, we are headed there now."

"Who was that?"

"That… was Takami. She is on foot running from Minaka not too far from here. Come on, let's take her back to the Inn."

They both hurry along the rooftops in search of Takami. They stop at a particularly big gap in the rooftops and looks down at the main highway running though Tokyo: the Tokyo-Gakien Expressway. Their attention is drawn when a car horn is honked, followed by a crash and go to the source. What they find is much worse than just a crash.

They find a car split in two, the occupants nowhere in sight and an unconscious woman with grey hair in the arms of a very muscular woman.

"Shit, we have to move quickly. Tsukiumi, go and block her path, I will circle around from behind. Once we have her, we are leaving the area."

"But a Sekirei battle is a sacred thing, a one on one battle."

"This isn't the time for that. And this isn't a battle, its kidnap. Now hurry!"

Homura jumps off the roof and circles around. Tsukiumi sighs and jumps down directly in front of the woman carrying Takami.

"#09, Tsukiumi, challenges you to battle!" A huge pillar of water shoots up behind her flashing her panties to the world.

"Sorry, I don't have time to fight you. I've got business to attend to." She attempts to jump past Tsukiumi. A wall of water appears in front of her. She hits the wall and bounces off it and hits the ground hard. Takami's unconscious form rolls away from her attacker.

"I will be your opponent. Now, declare your number and fight like a Sekirei should!"

The muscular woman gets off the ground and dusts herself off. "Fine have it your way since you're not going to let me go. # 99, Hiromi, fist type."

Tsukiumi gets a better look at her opponent. Aside from her bulging muscles and boxy frame, she would be considered drop dead gorgeous. Long amber red hair, sizable, but not overly so, breasts, very tanned skin, and generous curves elsewhere.

Hiromi takes a step back then propels herself into the air above Tsukiumi. Tsukiumi also leaps into the air toward her opponent, sending wave after wave in her direction. She then attacks her with Mizu no ya (Water Arrow) all in just a few seconds. Hiromi leaps off an arrow and extends her leg and kicks Tsukiumi in the face. As she tumbles to the ground, Tsukiumi gathers the water around her and shoots her Water Celebration at Hiromi, forcing her to dodge instead of purse.

Tsukiumi lands lightly on the ground and gathers her Water Swords on both arms and dashes into hand to hand combat. Swinging with wild determination Hiromi is on the defensive barely dodging the swords. Slashing, then stabbing, then slashing again, Tsukiumi forces her opponent back, then leaping into the air, she brings her hands together and forms a singular sword, three times the size of just one.

"Miza Funsai (Water Demolisher)!"

Tsukiumi brings down the sword right on top of Hiromi, flooding the entire highway. Having used so much energy, Tsukiumi pants heavily and doubles over, her hands on her knees to keep her standing.

"Is that all you got?"

Tsukiumi looks up to see Hiromi standing on the roof of the closest building.

"Honestly, putting all that energy into a finisher attack when you haven't even hit me. I thought single numbers were smarter than that. You do know that we fist type possess superior speed as well as strength, right?"

Just as she is about to reengage Tsukiumi, a ring of fire appears around Hiromi, trapping her. The flames grow in intensity, then the while room explodes. Tsukiumi covers her face from the heat of the explosion and misses seeing which direction Hiromi is blasted off the roof.

"Homura! Why did thou interfere? A Sekirei battle is a one on one affair!"

Homura drops down beside her, Takami in his arms, and looks her dead in the eyes. "I told you before, this was not a battle. Just a distraction so we can get Takami to safety. Now, if you have a problem with me ending this before you got hurt, then can it. Right now we need to…"

A soft moan and Takami slowly opens her eyes. "Homura, what am I doing here?" Takami looks around, confused. Then the memories hit her and recognition sets in. "Right, well. We need to get back to Izumo Inn, I have information that you will need. Where are my bags?" She puts her hand to her head while Homura puts her back on her feet.

"We didn't see any. We got here after you were knocked out by Hiromi. I grabbed you while Tsukiumi here distracted her."

"No problem. I have a tracker in the bags linked to my phone in case they are stolen. What happened to Hiromi?"

"Well, I was fighting her before Homura here, broke the rules and killed her with an explosion."

"I didn't killer her. I didn't even make her loose her crest. She is just a little crispy and her hair is now fluffy and a few inches shorter."

Tsukiumi turns her back on him and leaps to the nearest rooftop. "I suggest that we move, that explosion won't go unnoticed."

Homura and Takami nod at each other and looks for her bags. Once located, Takami grabs onto Homura's left arm and they travel on the rooftops with Tsukiumi as in front as escort/lookout.

* * *

End of Chapter 10


	11. Chapter 11: A Plan Comes Together

**Chapter 11: A Plan Comes Together  
**

***Lemon warning***

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I got sidetracked by the whole attempted kidnap thing. But I'm here now. What do you need to know?"

Takami is sitting in Matsu's room along with Ed, Miya, Kagari, and Matsu.

Ed speaks up first. "We have agreed that we need to take this fight to Minaka. If we stay here, there will be a lot of collateral damage and casualties. Best way to reduce both is to not be here. Now, can you think of a way that we can reactivate the Sekirei that have been eliminated?"

Takami nods. "There is. After the final stage is complete, we planned on reviving all of the Sekirei. But this method not only revives them, it un-wings them too so they can either return to their old Ashikabi or get a new one."

Kagari speaks up. "Can we use this method before the final stage is complete? We could use that to our advantage if we time it right."

"Yes, but there is a problem. The only thing is that MBI doesn't do anything. The ship does it. You don't know this, but we had planned on asking Miya to operate the ship to restore everything since we can't use it, or have her instruct the Sekirei before, and that is if, you were terminated."

Everyone looks at Miya who is deep in thought. "I don't remember that. It is possible that my memories are not all there after being in stasis for so long. When I accessed the computer last, it had told me that we were in stasis for a total of 50 years, so memory loss is quite possible. I'm sure it is just a procedure of accessing the right system."

"The ship has molecular scanners in the panels and instruments. Only Sekirei can operate them. The only thing that didn't have these sensors was the controls to awaken them. So, if we can access the ship, Miya or another Sekirei can initiate the reset."

"So, if you can't access the systems, how do you know such a reactivation program is there?"

"When we started activating the Sekirei, it used a similar procedure. It reset each of the Sekirei and it activated them. We just chose the order. I can't imagine that the ship doesn't have a system to initiate a system-wide reactivation."

"If can get aboard the ship, I can access the systems much faster than Miya can, no offence. I'm used to working with computer information systems." Matsu offers.

"The other problem is that the ship isn't located in the city. It is located 20 miles west of Tokyo at the private army base. With all of us on the list, there is no way we can get out of here without alerting Minaka of our plans."

"I have an idea about that. Matsu, can you look up the dimensions of the river and get a detailed map of the northern area's soil composition?"

Matsu turns around and within minutes has detailed information about the river and a current map the soil composition. It shows a high concentration of copper, cadmium, and zinc with trace amounts of aluminum. Ed grins.

"Ok, here's what I'm thinking. I can tunnel from the house under the city and the river. From there I can extend the tunnel 100 or so meters away from the shoreline to keep from being spotted."

"That's great and all, but what about all that water pressure and the fact that the soil will be saturated with water? And how are you going to dig said tunnel?" Takami challenged.

Instead of answering, Ed turns to Miya. "Hey Miya, who is going to make dinner?"

"Musubi should have it done by now, so it will be curry again. Why?" A confused look on her face.

"Takami, I'm sure you're hungry after being chased across half the city, right? I can answer your questions there."

Takami opens her mouth to object, but closes it when she realizes that she is indeed very hungery and they break for dinner.

**

* * *

**

Once they are back in Matsu's room, they begin talking again.

"So, we have how we can get to the ship. Now we need a plan to end this "game". Minaka needs to learn that he can't mess with people's lives and expect them not to fight back," Kagari inputs.

"I think we should involve more than us in this plan. I think we should ask the other Ashikabi around here. I'm thinking they might want a chance to end this game and have a real life with their Sekirei. I know Yukari, my daughter, will join in if we ask."

"But the more people we tell, the more likely that Minaka will find out what we are planning and counter it."

"So we don't tell them everything. We tell them what they are to do, nothing more. We have them gather somewhere and when the reset happens, they will be ready for it. They can re-wing and fight."

"But if the other Sekirei are un-winged, will they continue to fight? With the bonds to their Ashikabi's gone, they may have no motivation to follow that order. The Disciplinary Squad will still fight, especially Karasuba, but the others might not." Miya says with a concerned look on her face.

"I think it would be foolish to totally count them out right now. But you may be right Miya. Would you still follow an order from someone if that person no longer had position over you?"

"I would if that person weren't you. But if you weren't my husband and I didn't trust you so much, it would depend on several things: if I was winged against my will, if the orders made sense, if I understood the importance of those orders, and how sane the person giving the orders was."

"Ok, so with that in mind, we can count on some of the less loyal Sekirei to not fight, but the loyal ones could be a problem. The same would apply to the Sekirei that we would be relying on. How do we have the Sekirei on our side stay that way?"

They think for a second. Kagari comes up with an answer. "We tell the Sekirei about the reset, not the Ashikabi. We explain the reason and what is at stake. Even if they don't want to stay with their current Ashikabi, they may still stay and fight."

"Sounds good. I would say that we divide up into three sections: one to take the ship, one for a diversion, and one to take Minaka out of the picture. The diversion would be the Sekirei and, to a lesser extent, their Ashikabi's that we recruit. They would engage the majority of Minaka's forces and keep his attention away from what the real plan is." Ed states/suggests.

"Minato should be in charge of the group going to the ship. He will need to be there once the reset is complete to re-wing you Matsu and your companions, if you want to, but I can't imagine you not wanting to. Ed and I will go for Minaka, and Kagari should be in charge of the recruits," Miya adds; agreeing with Ed and adding her own opinion.

Kagari shakes his head. "I'm not so sure about that. Last time I didn't object because there wasn't much time, but this time I must insist on going with you to kill Minaka. I swore to kill him and I was glad that you didn't kill him last time. So, please, take me with you!"

Everyone looks at him is surprise. Ed looks at Miya. "It's your decision Miya, you're the leader here. I'll back whatever you decide."

Miya thinks for a second before nodding her head. Kagari gets up and rushes over and gives her a giant hug.

"Thank you Miya. You have really made me happy."

Miya return the hug and speaks quietly into his ear. This turns him bright red in his face. He backs away and sits back down awkwardly, causing a laugh to escape Miya.

"Well, it's been quite a night. I think we all need a good night's rest. We can continue this tomorrow after breakfast." Miya says tiredly.

"I think your right. Thanks Miya and Ed for putting up with the unexpected drop in and letting me stay here." Takami gives the couple a low bow.

"Don't think anything of it. With Tsukiumi with Musubi and Yashima with Kazahana, I don't know of any rooms open at the moment. But there is…" A sad look comes over Miya's face. Ed hugs her tightly.

"With her being in the state she is in, I can only assume she is thinking about you using Uzume's room. She still can't get over it. Please use her room. Goodnight." Ed says quietly. Ed takes Miya out of the room.

"Man, she really misses her."

"Yeah. To Miya, we are all like family. She would like to think she is acting like an older sister, but I think she acts like a mother. She worries about us and keeps us in line, just like a mother. Anyways, what will be Minaka's response to you coming here?"

"He will either factor in my help and adjust, speed up his plans, or change them completely. The second one is most likely as he has most of his pieces in place already and he will want to hit us before we can make preparations. But, my god, I still can't wrap my head around Ed's ability. Just think of how it could change the world. To make and remake object how we see fit."

"I know and from what I hear, it is learnable by almost anybody."

"Incredible. Anyways, I'm tired too, so good night. See you tomorrow."

"Good night."

* * *

Ed holds and rocks Miya against chest as she sheds more tears for her lost family member. Ed strokes her head and holds her and lets her use him as a support leg. The tear shedding is shorter than last but no less intense.

"Better now?"

Miya wipes the last of her tears away and nods. 'God, I'm glad I don't wear makeup. I would look like a banshee right now.'

A laugh escapes her as she imagines what she would look like with running eye liner and mascara.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, I was just thinking that I'm glad I don't wear makeup. Otherwise with the crying I've done lately, I would look like a banshee with running mascara and eye liner."

"You're right. You would look like a banshee."

Miya gets an expression of mock hurt and hits him lightly on the arm. "Hey, you're supposed to say that I look beautiful no matter if my makeup is running or not."

"Well, then it's a good thing that you don't need makeup. You are perfect the way you are." Ed tightens the hug and kisses the top of her head.

"You're too kind."

"And you undersell yourself. I really do think that you are one of the most beautiful people in the world. And you do it without having to alter the color of your face with chemicals to do it."

"Stop it, you're making me blush. And for the record, I think that you're very handsome." Miya reaches up and kisses Ed and he kisses her back.

Ed remembers something and breaking the kiss. "So, what did you tell Kagari?"

"That he should be Takami's Sekirei and that she can make him happier than killing Minaka can. I know. I have experience in that field."

"You make me happy too. You know, it's weird. A month ago, I always assumed that I would marry Winry. It's kind of scary just how fast things have gone from meeting you and thinking that you were the scariest person alive. To kissing you to marring you and falling in love with you to now. I feel like I have known you my whole life, but I know it has only been a few weeks, but I wouldn't trade these weeks for anything."

Miya nods in agreement. "I feel that way too. For some reason, I just know that I can absolutely trust you deep in my heart and body; that you will always try your hardest and never abandon me or let me go. I don't understand it all, but I wouldn't trade this either." Miya lets out a yawn and Ed covers the yawn with a kiss.

"mmmmm… that was nice. A little warning would also be nice, but feel free to do that again."

"I'll keep that in mind. Come on, let's get to bed. If you're yawning, then you must be really tired. And for the record, I would love to do more than just make you blush. In fact, I predict that in 1 minute, you will be completely naked!" Miya gets off Ed and was in the process of helping him off the floor, but upon hearing the last part she lets go and he falls a foot or so to the ground.

"That was uncalled for. I was only joking, well, except about the part of making you do more than blush. Oh how I would love to, but not tonight. You seem really tired. I thought you Sekirei didn't get tired easily." Ed gets off the floor and hugs Miya from behind and she leans against his chest.

"Not really. Sekirei get tired just like humans do. Stresses as well as physical and mental activity take a toll on our bodies just like yours. Our physical endurance is greater than humans, but we still get tired."

Miya disengages from Ed and they both get undressed. Miya gets under the covers of the futon and Ed turns out the lights. After Ed crawls into bed, he kisses Miya on the cheek.

"Hehe, I was right."

"About what?"

"That in a minute you would be naked."

**

* * *

**

"Bar tender, another drink."

The bartender throws him a look. "Look friend, I think you've had three too many, my friend."

"What was that pops? Just gimme the damn drink." The man gives the bar tender an angry look.

"I've seen that look before. Lose your girlfriend?" the bartender asks as he slides over another vodka tonic.

"Yeah, something like that. All I wanted was a woman who would listen to me. And I found one that would never leave me, no matter what. That's what I thought anyways."

"You must have really liked her. What happened?"

"Some damn kid and a young woman took her away from me. All because I was a little rough."

"Sounds to me like they saw something they didn't like. You didn't hit her or anything did you? I would blame them if, that's a big if, you did something like that. I might have done the same thing."

The drunk man gets stands up drunkly. "What are you say'n pops? That they were right to take her away from me when they don't even know her? What right do they have?"

The bartender turns his back to clean some glasses. "Where I come from, you help out a lady in distress. If you were rough with a girl and someone saw, then they had a right, no responsibility, to step in."

The man pulls out a brand new switch blade and produces the blade. The bartender doesn't even turn around.

"Put that away. By your reaction, I've hit the nail on the head. Look, if you want your girl back, then you have to do something about it, but you can't force her to accept you. You have to change for her to do that. Now, I'll call a taxi for you and you get yourself home safe. You can't rescue a girl if you're dead, right? And don't worry about the fair, I'll pay for it."

With that, the man plops down in the booth chair. 'Maybe he is right. Maybe I have been too rough with her, but what do I do now?"

* * *

"Ok, I've sent a text message to the Ashikabi's around the area that we can trust. I've instructed them to meet here at noon tomorrow, as planned. This ensures that the people watching this place will know and think that we will try another head on assault and that will be our distraction."

"Thanks Matsu, you've been a big help. Now that we have informed you, Minato, I understand that you and your Sekirei are on board with the plan. Tomorrow for the briefing, we will separate the Sekirei from their Ashikabi's. The purpose is to inform the Sekirei that they will be reset and that they may choose another Ashikabi if they want. The Ashikabi's will not be informed. Instead, they will be informed of the battle plans. Minato and Matsu, you will lead the Ashikabi briefing and Miya and I will lead the Sekirei. The rest of the Sekirei will be keeping watch for an attack.

Ed outlines the plan for the next day in the living room with everyone present plus Yukari and Shiina. "For the past couple of days now, I have been slowly building up the structural integrity of the house by strengthening weak points like joints and making a solid layer of steel and brass behind the outer walls and increasing the density of the wood. This increases the weight of the walls, but also makes them incredibly durable."

To make his point, Ed leans over and hits the wall with his metal fist. A very dull * thud * is made at the contact. Ed then moves over to an inner wall and repeats. This time a hollow, high pitched *thump*.

"Ed, stop putting dents in my wall and continue please." Miya drags him back over to the living room.

"Sorry. Now, some of the Ashikabi will not want to fight. This is understandable. For those who stay and fight, they will be under you, Yukari. Some of the will Ashikabi will be stationed at the house to make it look like we are still there. If you are attacked, then run. Don't stay and fight because we won't be here. Now for the diversion, the meeting point for all Ashikabi's will be the park once the operation is a go. After the reset, some of the Sekirei working for the other side will not want to fight, and those that do will be disorganized and weaker due to being un-winged. Let the ones who don't want to fight leave and concentrate on the others. It will be your responsibly to keep the Ashikabi in line and don't try to force winging on others." She gives him a sinister grin that gives Ed a shiver along with a sloppy salute.

"Now, the night before we initiate our diversion, I will use Alchemy to burrow under the house about 10 meters. From there, I will make a tunnel that goes to the under the MBI building. Takami will provide us with blueprints and security codes to get through. I will probably create a magnetic field around the building that will cause all electronics to go haywire. From that point on, it will be a fight to Minaka." Miya, Kagari, and Takami all nod in agreement.

"For you, Minato, and for your Sekirei, I will create a tunnel that will go underneath the river and make it surface about 100 meters from the river bank. Now, since the soil will be so far underground, I will reinforce it will brass and copper. Also, I will evaporate the water in the surrounding soil to make sure that it stays dry long to enough to make a brass "shell" about 20 meters all the way around the tunnel. This shell will stop the water from re-saturating the soil and making the tunnel unstable. Because the ground holds in heat well and there will be no exit point for all that vaporized water, it will be incredibly hot and humid. Bring plenty… never mi…" Ed cracks up laughing.

Everyone stares at Ed as he doubles over from laughing so hard. Getting annoyed, Miya slaps his back fairly hard to get Ed in line. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. I was going to tell you to bring plenty of water, but you will have Tsukiumi with you, or as Miya's nickname for you, "walking tap". I just couldn't help myself." That gets another slap from Miya. Ed looks at her with a giant grin on his face, but Miya looks away, but Ed feels her laughing on the inside.

"Well, even with Tsukiumi with you, everyone needs to stay hydrated. Since it will take a few hours to reach the base, take some food with you so you can be fed when you attack. For the plan to attack the base, I will leave that to Matsu to come up with and tell you." Minato and his "harem" all nod to show they understand.

"Now, eventually they will come to get us here. All they will find is an empty house. I will have sealed the tunnel with Alchemy, but in the unlikely event that the tunnel is discovered, I will put in a trap that will only trigger if the tunnel is forced into. The tunnel will flood and make it impossible to discover where it leads and there will be several cave-in points where even if they are to navigate the tunnel underwater, they will be unable to follow. The MBI building will be there first guess which puts pressure on us, but I don't think that will be a problem. Any questions?"

"I do. Are you going to kill Minaka when you get to him?" asks Yukari.

"I don't know. We will have to see when we get there."

"A lot of this plan is based on creating this very long and complex tunnel. Will you be able to do it?" asks Takami, who still doesn't understand how Alchemy works.

"I should be able to. Now, I will be very tired afterwards, but I believe that I will be able to. That is why it will be the night before, not the day of. Also, it will be tricky to do because I will have to form the tunnel, flash vaporize the water , and form the brass that will stabilize the tunnel at the same time as the tunnel forms or it has a strong chance of collapsing. If that happens, I will have to try again later. How later depends on how far I get down the tunnel."

"What if we are in the tunnel when the trap is sprung and the tunnel floods?" This comes from Minato.

"That is a second point of the cave-in points. This will slow the water down and maybe even stop it completely. There will be a cave-in point about every 10 feet for about 100 meters from the Inn. Does that answer your question?" Minato nods.

"Any more? Good. We should start in 2 days. Hopefully, Minaka will wait that long. Thanks for your support. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."

* * *

With the ending of the briefing, Ed and Miya go off and prepare for their portion of tomorrow's work in the gymnasium. They take a seat against on the floor against a wall. Miya is on Ed's lap, her head against his shoulder.

"So, if you don't mind, I will open up tomorrow with a rhetorical question about staying with their Ashikabi's. After that we explain that they have a decision to make. Then we tell them about being reset. After that, if it's ok, you talk to them about their decision. We then explain the mission and make sure they understand what is at stake so if they don't want to return to their Ashikabi they will continue to help us out."

Miya turns it over in her head for a moment. "I think I should tell them about the reset because they may take it wrong if you, and Ashikabi, tell them. They may think you're trying to get more Sekirei for yourself and take them away from a loved one. With that in mind, we should be upfront with them and let them know the purpose of them being here."

"You're right. Will I be there just for questions and a pretty face?"

"Your face is very pretty, but you have more use than a piece of scenery. Trust me on that."

"Thanks. You're more useful than just a spokes person. Trust me on that."

A sudden tenseness comes between them. Ed's mind is currently stuck on hentai mode (but I guess you can't really call it that when the person he is thinking about is his wife) and Miya feels something poke her. She smiles.

"Ed, what nasty thoughts are you thinking about me?"

Ed reaches around and rubs her nipple a little. "Do you want me to tell you or show you?" He is so close she shivers as his breath hits the back of her neck.

Ed's metal hand slips into her top and grabs her bare breast and massages it causing her to gasp at the sudden coldness of his hand. Somehow, her top is suddenly off and her chest is exposed. His other hand joins in. He finds a lot of satisfaction in playing with her breasts.

"Wait, what if someone comes into the gym?" Miya grabs him hands to make him stop, although her voice says otherwise.

Ed sighs and reluctantly let go on Miya's breasts. He claps his hands and fuses the doors together. And with that being the only entrance and no windows in the doors, they have the room to themselves. There is a faint trail on the floor from the energy of the transmutation from Ed to the door.

"Happy now?"

"Well, there is a mark on the floor and the doors need to be replac…" she begins, but never finishes her sentence as Ed continues teasing her body, only this time his flesh hand goes into her panties, her skirt drawn up around her waist. Miya whimpers as Ed rubs her labia with his left and massages and pinches her nipple with the right.

Ed, all the while, is enjoying the effects that he is causing and kisses her bare shoulders. He takes his right hand off her breast and moves her hair over her shoulder, allowing him access to her bare neck. He replaces his hand to her right nipple once more and nibbles on her neck. Beads of sweat form on her neck and upper body.

"Oh, god! Don't stop!" Miya cries. Miya is squirming in his lap and moaning, causing a bulge in his pants to grow even bigger. Ed slips a finger inside and hits her clit causing her to let out a scream.

"Shhh or the other will hear you and bust down the door. Do you want them to find you with my hand in you?" Ed chides her sweetly, but Miya is beyond caring. Her hips buck to the rhythm of his fingers as he slips another one in.

Ed goes faster and drives her crazy. She is close to losing control when Ed curls his fingers slightly and hits her clit again and again and she climaxes with a very loud scream. Her body quakes with the waves of pleasure coursing through her body. Her limbs are fully extended and her body is shaking with pleasure.

Miya slumps against Ed as her climax finishes and breathes very heavily. She reaches up and caresses his face. Ed removes his hands, wipes off his fingers, and hugs her tightly. They sit and enjoy each other until Miya's breathing returns to normal.

"How was that for dirty thoughts?"

"I can't even begin to describe how wonderful that was. My god, when did you get that good?"

Ed shrugs. "Don't know. Maybe it just comes with practice and we have had plenty of practices."

"Well, they all felt real enough. Your right hand is very cold, you know that? But I love how it makes my body feel."

*BANG BANG BANG*

"Are you guys o.k.? We heard a scream." Minato's voice is muffled by the door.

"I told you so. I told you. So what do we tell them? If we don't answer them quickly though, they will break the door down."

"Tell them we were practicing." A smirk on Miya's lips.

"I love it when you talk dirty. Hurry and get dressed before they find your skirt up and your shirt off."

Miya dresses quickly. Once fully dressed, although her top is loose in places, Ed undoes the fused door and fixes the floor. Right before the door opens Miya flings Ed to the ground. Minato and all of his Sekirei, even Matsu, burst into the gym. They look around and find Ed on the ground, but doing a one handed back spring up and away from Miya. Miya jumps in pursuit and does a leaping round house. Ed block with his metal arm then grabs her leg. He then spins on the spot and throws her into the air.

She catches herself and back flips and lands on her feet.

"Not bad Ed. You're getting better, although that was kind of cheep blocking with your metal arm."

"Yeah well, considering you caught me off guard, I think I did pretty well. And that's YOUR fault for kicking with that leg. "

Minato and the others stare at them. Ed and Miya turn to face them. "What? Is something wrong?"

Minato blushes slightly and rubs the back of his head. "Well, we uh, heard a scream. So we came running to the gym. Are you guys ok?"

Ed and Miya look at each other, then back to the group. "Yeah, we finished with the plans for tomorrow and we decided to practice a little bit."

Noticing Miya's loose clothing Kazahana steps forward. She smiles and laughs. "Then why is your top loose?"

Miya looks down and feigns surprise. She quickly turns around and fixes her top, Minato almost feints. "I did say he was getting better. He did get a couple of good hits in." Ed catches the double meaning and plays back.

"You guys did see Miya get her ass handed to her, right?" Ed says without a trace of a blush. Kazahana is about to answer when Miya steps in and ensues an "argument".

"Hey, I was going easy on you again. I have to build up your self confidence somehow." She walks over to Ed and pokes him in the chest rather hard for effect.

"Ow, watch where you're poking." He play smacks her hand away. "And if you were going easy, then why are you sweating? You said that people who don't try very hard don't sweat." Ed bends down a little and looks her in the eyes, a triumphant smile on his face.

"You little…" Miya mock glares at him and a look of pure evil crosses her face.

Fearing that they will be caught in Miya's wrath as well, the group leaves the gym in a hurry dragging a barely conscious Minato. Once gone, Ed and Miya burst out laughing, doubling over.

"We should… become… actors. Wow, that was incredible. I almost lost it a few times."

"Oh my god. Did you see their expressions when I they saw your face? I can't stop laughing."

The laughter subsides eventually and they leave the gym and retire to their room hand in hand.

"Did you see Minato's face when he almost fainted. Classic. Quick thinking with the play acting and the sparing to explain you being sweaty and your loose clothing."

"Yeah well, I had to do something. Kazahana knows what really happened. She is smart. And for the record, that hurt when you blocked with your metal arm."

Ed hugs her from behind in apology. "I know, but I couldn't help it. And you kinda deserved it. You caught me completely off guard. You almost hit me with that round house. On that note, let me take a look at your leg."

"I almost lost control of my face when you told them we were practicing. I thought Minato was going to faint with embarrassment. I bet it was him who heard me scream."

Miya takes off her skirt and sits in a chair and extends her left leg for Ed to examine. "Yup, you're going to get a bruise. Does it hurt at all?"

Miya shakes her head. Ed puts some pressure on the now forming bruise testing the tenderness. "Well, it's going to be a pretty bruise."

He takes his thumbs and gently massages her shin. After a minute or so, he kisses her bruise and kisses his way up to her face. Once even with her he leans in.

"Sorry about the bruise. I didn't think; I just reacted. I'll try harder next time to block with my other arm."

"Don't apologize. You are right, I should have remembered about your arm. You did exactly what I would have done. Sorry about tossing you on the ground."

"Apology accepted on one condition."

Miya's eyes bug out, a little afraid of what that condition is.

"Kiss me."

Miya relaxes and puts her hands to his face. "You don't need permission to kiss me, you know that. But if that's what you want."

Miya leans the rest of the way and very passionate kiss ensues lasting for about 5 minutes.

"Wow, I think that was my first make out session," a smirk. "I look forward to the next. I hope it comes soon." Ed helps Miya out of the chair and they get ready for bed.

Miya giggles a little. "We will see about that. I'm not all that trilled about having a tongue shoved down my throat." Miya yawns tiredly.

"However, we need to get to sleep. You look really tired and we have a big day tomorrow. I guess throwing you doesn't help things much."

"It was a nice touch, but things like that do tend to end badly, but luckily, I'm not normal so, it's ok."

"No, you're definitely not normal, but I wouldn't have you any other way." Ed kisses her again as they crawl into bed.

"Don't ever change. I like you just the way you are."

Miya smiles into her pillow and they drift off to sleep.

**

* * *

**

"Are the preparations complete?"

"Yes sir. The South, West, and East Ashikabi's are on board along with the Disciplinary Squad. All together we have 30 Sekirei on standing by to attack the Inn."

"Good. We will initiate the attack in one day. Sleep well little boy, Minaka is coming for you."

* * *

End Chapter 11


	12. Chapter 12: The Briefing

**Chapter 12: the Briefing  
**

Ed and Miya wake up the next morning and start to get things ready. Ed makes some chairs and Miya starts cooking and making snacks. Minato, Kagari, and the harem, except Matsu who is keeping an eye on the lookout for trouble, all pitch in from setting up signs for the guests to follow to setting up tables with food and drinks. Yukari and Shiina arrive first about 10 am and also help set up.

Around 11:30 or so, Minato gets a call from Matsu.

"Hello?"

"Mina-tan. The surveillance satellite is picking up several Ashikabi and Sekirei moving to the front door. There are 4 people 100 meters from the door. Be careful, we don't know if they are friendly or not."

"Ah, thanks Matsu. Hold on one moment." Minato walks over to Miya.

"Landlady, Mats-san says that 4 people are coming to the door."

"Thank you." Minato gives her a quick bow and watches her walk off towards the door. He puts the phone back up to his face.

"Hey. Mats-san, is there anything I can get you since you aren't supposed to leave your post?"

"Now that you ask, I have wanted to experiment on you for a long while. Would you mind coming up here?" a huge, creepy grin plastered on her face as she breathes heavily into the phone.

Minato blushes furiously at her request. "M…M…Mats-san, I don't think the landlady would like that. I don't want to go without lunch again." *click* Minato hangs up the phone.

Meanwhile the doorbell rings as Miya reaches the door. Opening it she sees a pair of Ashikabi and their Sekirei.

"Welcome to the Izumo Inn! My name is Miya, the owner of Izumo Inn along with my husband. Before you come in, there are a few ground rules: violence is not permitted inside or alongside Izumo Inn. If your Sekirei use any weapons; they must be stored in the closet and will be returned once you leave. The main event is split into two sections: one for Ashikabi and one for Sekirei." Miya smiles at them sweetly.

"Shut up bitch! We heard there was a powerful Sekirei here. That's why we came, not to hear about rules or whatever from a stuck-up woman who doesn't know her place!" one of the Ashikabi says. He is dressed in a dark leather jacket with dark denim jeans. His hair is a dirty blonde slicked back with tons of gel and dark sunglasses. Miya's smile disappears.

"You know… its bad manners to insult the owner in her own house. I suggest you lighten up." Ed says stepping around the corner, his hands in his pockets and his metal arm exposed for everyone to see.

"I don't care whose dump this place belongs to. I don't a woman telling me what to do. And who are you, you little squir…" He never finishes his sentence as Ed smashes his metal hand into his face, sending him flying out the door and into the street 20 feet away.

Ed starts to walk over to the downed Ashikabi when his Sekirei gets in Ed's path, although secretly telling herself that he deserved it. She brings the quarter staff forward and prepares to hit Ed when a sword appears beside the Sekirei's neck. She looks to find Miya behind her with a deadly expression on her face and a sword a mere millimeter from her neck. Miya gives her a slow head shake that tells her not to do anything rash.

Ed walks right past Miya and the Sekirei, the other Ashikabi and Sekirei still standing beside the door stunned at what is taking place, completely forgotten. Ed bends down and grabs the collar of the Ashikabi, bringing their faces even.

"Let me explain the way things work around here. One: don't ever insult my wife. Your life is forfeit if you do. Two: don't ever treat women like they are second class or aren't equal to men. Your life is also forfeit if you do, seeing how there are 9 people living here and 6 of them are women, all of them Sekirei and 4 of them are single numbers. Three: don't ever call me short. Got it?"

Ed releases the Ashikabi and walks back over to Miya. He leans over and whispers something in her ear. Miya looks at Ed and nods her agreement. Then Ed walks over to the other Ashikabi and his Sekirei.

"I assume you heard everything that was said?"

The Ashikabi, a young man about in his early twenties, nods his head slowly, still shocked about the whole thing.

"Good. Do you agree to the rules that my wife and I have laid out?"

The Ashikabi shakes his head to clear his head.

"Yes and I and I'm glad someone put that ass hole in his place."

"Excellent. Welcome to Izumo Inn. In the living room are refreshments." Ed moves out of the way gesturing for them to enter.

"Now, what is your name?" Ed turns around and faces the Sekirei Miya still has the sword to.

"Who me?" she asks, clearly stunned that someone would talk to her and not ignore her.

"Yes. I assume you have one before that ape got his hands on you?"

She lowers her quarter staff. "Pardon me, my name is Asami, number 50. It's been so long since anyone addressed me besides what my Ashikabi calls me."

"Well, Asami. We have something in the meeting that you will want to hear. If you would please attend, it will be worth getting away from this scum for a few hours."

Asami looks back at her Ashikabi (he is now sitting up on his own and holding his bleeding and broken nose) and looks back to Ed. She sees no deception behind his eyes and her eyes bulge when Miya walks up beside him and Ed puts his arm around her waist in a protective embrace. She judges that he clearly cares and loves the woman beside him and decides to trust him.

Asami (meaning "morning beauty") lives up to her name. She is about 5'6" with long flowing black hair down to her waist and a hair clip to keep it out of her face. She wears a dark purple chihaya jacket* that is too small and barely contains her massive melons and a short black mini skirt. Her skin is of a creamy white and if she touches someone, one would think her skin was made of silk. She wears black gloves with the tips of the fingers cut off to protect her hands.

Asami looks back at her Ashikabi. "I'll see you later. Just wait around outside or go see a movie or something," she says with a sad look in her eyes. Ed isn't sure if it is because she is leaving him or because she has to back to him later.

"Don't turn your back to me bitch! I own you! You can't disobey me! COME BACK HERE!"

Ed takes Asami inside. The beaten Ashikabi gets up and starts after Asami.

"I'll teach her to walk away!" He gets about halfway to the door when Miya steps in his way.

"What you do want?"

She looks at him with contempt and fury. "If you enter this building without my husband's or my permission, I will kill you. Be on your way."

He leans over and looks her in the face. A smirk comes across his face. "I don't think so. Not without my woman."

He attempts to walk past her, but she raises her sheathed sword to block his path. "Don't test me."

He smirks again, thinking that she is just bluffing. "Bitch, I bet you don't even know how to use that."

He pushes the blade out of the way rather forcefully and walks forward. Miya uses the momentum to turn full circle and hut him in the lower back with the sheath. The Ashikabi sails forward 5 feet and falls flat on his face. He tries to get up, but finds an unsheathed sword dangerously close to his face.

"You don't listen do you? What was my husband's first and second rule? I will let you go this time. But make no mistake; I did this for your Sekirei. If you were a normal human you would already be dead." She squats down and brings the edge on the sword under his chin and pushes up, forcing his head to look her in the face.

"If you come around here again, you will no longer be among the living. Do I make myself clear?" The biggest demon face Miya has ever produced comes in behind her and fills his view. But it isn't the demon that scares him. It is the look in her eyes, cold, calculating, merciless, and utterly brutal.

Seeing the proper response, she stands up and sheathes her sword. She turns around and walks to the door. "Come back in 4 hours to pick up Asami. You touch one hair on her head and she is coming back here for good. And clean yourself up, you loathsome piece of trash." Miya walks through the door and closes it. The humiliated man gets slowly up off the ground and looks to see that he has soiled his pants.

Inside Miya finds Asami in the living enjoying the company of others who are actually interested in her and not just using her as a tool. She also spies Takami and Kagari talking quietly in a corner. Kagari catches Miya looking at him and slightly nods his head at her and Miya smiles at him. She goes into the kitchen and gets out a block of ice and a blunt knife and begins to lightly stab the ice, imagining it's his that man's face.

A pair of arms finds its way around her stomach and she feels s chest pressed up against her back.

"I hate men like that. Oh how I wish that I could just kill the lot of them and be done with it."

Ed smiles to himself. "Did I ever tell you to remind me not to make you mad? I hate how this world seems to have very little in the way of upstanding people. Just don't take your anger out on me, ok?"

"Ed, I would never take my anger out on you, unless that is, if you were the cause of that anger." She pats his hands and turns around and faces him. She puts her arms around his neck and pulls him close.

"Of course, there are more ways than one to take one's anger out on someone. How about depriving you of a certain physical activity for a week or so. Or maybe tying you down and punishing you would do well." She playfully said in his ear.

Ed face resembles a tomato after her statement and starts to sweat at just the thought of him being tied up with no chance of escape with a sadistic woman hell-bent on causing him pain. He quickly looks away to hide his sweating face. She puts her hand on his cheek and forces him to look at her. When he does, he finds her kind almost chocolate eyes swimming in amusement.

"You know I'm just kidding. I would never do that to you." She plants a kiss on him and they mac in the kitchen for a few minutes. She breaks away, smiles at him, then spins around in his arms and opens the oven as the timer goes off. She is about to reach in with her bare hand, forgetting the oven mitt when Ed stops her.

"What?" she gives him a look of confusion.

"Miya, unless you have a metal hand like me, I don't suggest you reach into a very hot oven and grab a metal object that has been in a 400 degree environment for 10 minutes." He holds her hand up to her face to show that she is indeed not wearing anything over her hand to protect it.

"Oh my, thanks you. Uzume would have been mad if she had to bandage my hand after something so careless," she says forgetting about what happened.

Ed wraps her in a hug. "Are you feeling ok? You seem to not be focusing today."

"I'm fine. That poor excuse for an Ashikabi must have upset me more than I thought."

Ed gives her a questioning look, but decides not to remind her of her departed family member. Ed reaches into the oven with his metal hand and grabs the tray, pulls it out, and shuts the oven door and turns it off. He takes a look at the food on the tray and grimaces.

"Uh, Miya. What are these?" There are 2 dozen little squares on the tray, all bulged and expanded so much that they almost burst.

"Oh, those are called pizza rolls." She picks up two of the squares and feeds one to Ed and eats one herself. Ed has a thoughtful expression on his face as he chews the snack.

"Before I pass judgment, what is in it?"

"Oh, just some cheese, tomato based sauce, some pepperoni, some sausage, and the outside is made of bread." She picks up another one and feeds it him.

Ed chews and nods his head in approval. "Hey, I could get used to being fed my food."

She puts her hand in his chest and taps lightly. "Don't get your hopes up dear."

Miya removes her hand from his chest and gets out a plate and Ed manages to get all of the rolls on the plate without spilling them by tilting the pan. Ed and Miya leave the kitchen and mingle with the guests. More are arriving by the minute. As Miya stays relatively close to the door, Ed engages Asami in conversation about her scum of an Ashikabi.

"He's really not too bad. It's his way of showing he cares."

Ed scoffs at that. "He's got a very weird way of showing it. You know, if he every hits you or touches you and you don't want him too, you can always come here. Our door is always open. You know, you should talk to Yashima about your Ashikabi. Miya and I took her from that meat bag because he was hitting her in the face for not doing well in battle and forcing her to kiss him in order for her to use her Norito. "

Asami bows slightly. "Thank you. That is a very kind offer. Maybe I will. Thank you for the advice. If you will excuse me, I will follow it."

She bows again and walks toward Yashima and Hotaru currently engaged with talking to a new couple. Awhile later Ed finds Miya at the door.

"Hey, honey. It's close to 1. Should we start pushing people toward the meeting?"

"Let's see. There have been 25 Sekirei and 19 Ashikabi that have shown up, I don't think that many more will come."

**

* * *

**

20 minutes later, the Sekirei and Ashikabi have separated into the briefing rooms. Ed, Miya, and Takami in the gym and Minato, Kagari, and Yukari in the lab.

Miya stands in front of them, a smile on her face.

"Hello, thank you for coming. My name is Miya Elric. This is my husband, Edward. And I'm sure most of you know Takami." Ed and Takami give a little wave.

"I know you are wondering why you are split up from your Ashikabi and I will get right to the point. We are taking on MBI and stopping the Sekirei Plan. However, in order to do that, we need your help. MBI is currently planning on trying to take this place by force with a lot of Sekirei. If that were to happen, the collateral damage and loss of life, not just the Sekirei symbol, would be very high. So we are taking the fight to them.

"We have a 3 part plan. The part that would use you is the second part, the diversion. We want you to keep their attention on you guys while we implement the rest of the plan. Now the reason why we have separated you right now it this: right before you engage MBI, we will reset all of the Sekirei."

A murmur goes through the crowd. Takami walks forward.

"This reset was the original plan that I came up with 18 years ago and would have been used after the final stage was complete. It has two effects. One: it will re-awaken all of the Sekirei who have lost. Two: it will make all Sekirei, all of you, un-winged."

Ed steps forward. "We wanted to let all of you know a head of time because you have an important decision to make: to stay with your current Ashikabi or go and find another one. It is a big decision to make, so don't take it lightly. Speaking from an Ashikabi's point of view, I don't know what I would do without Miya. She really is my everything. I don't know what I would do if she decides to not stay, but I'm pretty confident that she will." Everyone draws looks at Miya in shock (Except Asami and the other Sekirei who witnessed the event). They had no idea she was a Sekirei.

"What we would like is when the battle comes, even if you decide to leave your Ashikabi, for you to still help us to fight MBI. After the reset occurs, we don't expect many of the Sekirei under the control of the South, East, and West Ashikabi's to fight since a lot of them were forced into it, but the Disciplinary Squad is a different story all together. They will still fight and be pretty effective, but un-winged and a lot less powerful than before." Takami strolls back and forth she the talks. Miya then steps forward.

"We tell you this because I and all of you know how ludicrous the Sekirei Plan is. We tell you this out of good faith. But we aren't asking you to blindly follow some washed up landlady. Including myself, we have 5 out of the 9 single numbered Sekirei in on this plan."

"And what number are you? When Sekirei introduce themselves, it is polite to share their number too." A voice from the crowd calls Miya out.

"Oh, well then excuse my manners. I am Miya #1, leader of the 1st generation Disciplinary Squad." Blank stares *cricket chirp*. Then all at once, murmurs fill the room. "Number 1 is dead. I heard it from someone at MBI" "I heard the same thing." "I heard that she left the city and I now living in America running a whore house."

Miya (in anime fashion of grabbing one piece of clothing and the whole outfit comes off) is suddenly in the same outfit as when she "rescued" Ed, who also happens to catch her clothing as it falls to the ground. Around 5 or so demons appear behind her as well. From her mallet space, she has also pulled out Totsuga no Tsurugi.

Everyone is the room stops talking immediately. The look Miya gives them sobers them up instantly.

"I know I don't look it, but I have brought down ships with a sword. Just ask the first 5 after me. Now the only this we cannot predict is how soon MBI will react. So, two days from now those who agree to help us will meet with Yukari and Shiina in the park not far from here. The rest of the Sekirei and Ashikabi's here will initiate the first and last phases."

Ed steps forward. "We don't ask this lightly. We know that some of you may lose your Sekirei Crest in the battle, but after the battle is over, we can revive you. So just don't die. That we cannot fix.

"Your Ashikabi's are getting details about the diversion. They don't know the whole plan. They think the plan is to fight. Please don't tell them about the rest of the plan or about the reset. If you do, it could get out and force the Sekirei who don't want to stay with their current Ashikabi to be forcefully winged again. You have a lot of thinking to do. Thank you for your time. Please feel free to come by and visit anytime. My wife and I always enjoy guests."

Ed, Miya, and Takami all give a low bow and exit the gymnasium.

* * *

End Chapter 12

* The tops worn by Miya and Musubi I think are called a chihaya jacket. This is the only thing in could find on the name of the top. If someone knows for sure, please tell me.


	13. Chapter 13: Last Chance

**Chapter 13: Last Chance**

Yashima listens to the briefing in silence. She sits next to Asami in the front row. She hadn't been told anything about the plan or that there even was one. She had noticed a change in Ed and Miya the past few days, but didn't say anything.

Yashima and Asami had become fast friends due to the similarity of their situations. They talked about their Ashikabi and compared notes and how they would deal with such an abusive person. They also talked about how they didn't know such a relationship like Ed and Miya have could exist. Now that they have seen what a real relationship is, they want it for themselves.

The meeting concludes and the Sekirei all go back to the Inn side. Some talk in quiet voices, but most are lost in their own thoughts. Yashima breaks off the main group and jumps to the top of the Inn and stares out across the city wondering what Juichi is doing right now.

'Does he miss me? Has he changed at all? Is he ok? Before he would go out drinking and without me he couldn't make it home. I hope he isn't in some gutter. But what if he hasn't changed? I've seen a real relationship now and when the reset happens, I don' think that my feelings for him are going to be enough for me to stay with him if he hasn't. I've got to meet him and see for myself.'

She jumps down to the ground and finds a phone. Dialing a phone number she hears the phone ring twice before it picks up and is happy that he isn't in a gutter.

"Hello," a sleepy, drunken voice answers.

"Juichi-sama, it me, Yashima. I want to meet with you tonight. Can you meet me at the east side of the Imperial Palace Garden around 9? By the creek. I'll see you there. Bye."

She puts down the phone and skips to go talk to Asami as the Ashikabi briefing isn't finished yet.

**

* * *

**

Yashima sits on a bench in the Imperial Palace Gardens in the moonlight, her hammer beside her. She snuck out of the Inn because she didn't want anybody to worry about her. She isn't wearing her normal white dress with a headband. No, this time she is dressed in a dark purple, floor length dress with a sash as a belt and a sunflower in her hair which is down and straight.

She hears someone approaching and she stands and sees Juichi coming towards her. She has to restrain herself from jumping into his arms at seeing for the first time in weeks.

"Hello Juichi-sama. It's been a while. I see you got your hand back." She gives him a smile.

"Yeah, it had been. Uh, I've been…uh… thinking since you've been gone. And… uh… uh, crap I'm not good with words. I…I…I'm sorry for hitting you all those times and I…I…missed you. And…uh… you look nice." He half turns away from her in embarrassment.

At this, Yashima can't contain herself. She leaps into his arms and holds him close. "I missed you too Juichi-sama. I've also gotten better at fighting! Miya is a really good trainer."

A little stunned by her hug and not really having a lot of experience in this situation, he very tentatively puts his arms around her. 'I guess that old bartender was right.'

"Let's leave the capital; just you and me. Forget this fighting and the screw the plan."

Yashima lets go of him a little. "I can't do that. I have friends now and they need help in a few days and I want to help them out. I want you to help them out too."

"What? Leave them! All we need are each other. Forget the others. Let them fight each other to extinction!"

Yashima lets him go and looks him right in his eyes, something she wouldn't have done in a thousand years before meeting Miya and Ed.

"No. These people took me in. They fed me and cared for me and trained me without asking anything in return. I owe them and I need to repay the favor."

Juichi's face darkens. He grabs her wrist and Yashima takes an involuntary step back. "I told you we are leaving!"

"I said NO!" She takes her other hand and flat palms his chest. This strike sends him 20 feet back into the creek, totally drenching him.

"It was too good to be true to believe that you had changed! I wanted to believe, but apparently you didn't miss me enough to change. I've seen a real relationship and it isn't one with violence and pain. It is full of love and caring more about the other person more than yourself. I wanted to believe you changed, but now I see that it is impossible." She turns away from him.

Goodbye Juichi. You may never see me again, so I will tell you this now. Despite your violent behavior I was happy before just to be noticed by you, but that won't work now. In two days I will no longer be your Sekirei. I hope you find happiness in someone who doesn't mind bruises."

With that she walks away from his soaked figure. "Wait Yashima. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Don't go!" He breaks down and starts crying. It is all she can do to not go and hold him and comfort him, but she knows that he won't change. She retrieves her hammer and walks to the exit. Once there, she sees Ed and Miya waiting for her.

"What are you doing here!" she asks astounded.

Ed steps forward. "As for how we knew, Miya… 'overheard' your conversation on the phone and we decided to tail you. We were making sure nothing happens to you. I almost jumped the guy when he grabbed your wrist, but must say that palm strike was a nice touch."

Yashima looks down to the ground. "I'm not proud of what I did. I struck my Ashikabi."

Miya walks up to her and wraps her in a hug. "And he should feel terrible for hitting a woman more than one. I just hope your words make him change."

Yashima hugs Miya back. "I do too." Tears come to the corner of her eyes, but she fights them back down. 'I will not cry. I will remain strong and fight for Miya and the others.'

Miya breaks the hug and Yashima smiles at her. "Let's go home."

* * *

End Chapter 13


	14. Chapter 14: Murphy's Law

**Chapter 14: Murphy's Law**

Ed, Miya, and Yashima arrive at the Inn a while later. As Miya puts their jackets away, Ed moves to the living room where the rest of the residents where gathered.

"Alright, I guess I'm up next. Don't be afraid if I faint. This is a very big and complex transmutation. It may take a while. If I do pass out, don't go down there until I tell you it is ok to. The tunnel may not have been finished or it may be weak in some points. Ok?"

Everyone nods in agreement. Miya pulls Ed to her and kisses him for good luck.

"You know, it is a shame that kissing you doesn't give you a power boost like it does with us."

"Oh don't worry; you just gave me plenty of motivation."

Ed moves to the center of the room and kneels to the ground. He claps his hands together.

"Here goes nothing," and slams his hands onto the floor. The floor glows bright blue, so bright it almost is white. The light after a minute or so dies down and everyone finds a hole in the middle of the ground. They look down the hole and see more light coming from moving down the hole. They look at Ed who has his eyes closed.

"I guess all we can do is wait. I suggest everyone gets to bed soon as we have a long day of travel ahead of us." As the group gets up the walls of the house shake as a massive explosion goes off outside.

Everyone turns to the stairs as they hear someone scrambling down the stairs. Matsu appears and trips and falls. Minato is at her side in an instant.

"Mats-san, are you ok?"

"Never mind that. We have to get out of here. MBI has begun its attack! The surveillance satellite fed false data to my computers and now the Inn is totally surrounded! That was an RPG they launched and I would bet that there will lot more."

"Minato and Tsukiumi grab water and bottles from the kitchen. Matsu and Kusano grab some food. Musubi go and grab as many flashlights and batteries as you can. Takami and Kagari go and get blankets. We are going to have to spend the night in the tunnel…" The building begins to shake constantly as more RPG's hit the building. Everyone goes about their tasks and silently thanks Ed for beefing up the walls.

Miya kneels next to Ed after a few minutes. "Ed, I don't mean to be a nuisance, but can you hurry it up some?" As she says this, Ed slumps against her. She notices that his brow is very sweaty and wipes it away from his eyes. She lays him down on her lap. His eyes open and smiles.

"You're never a nuisance to me. I got halfway done with the tunnel. We should be able to get down there and continue the plan."

"Good and thank you. I know that took a lot out of you." She raises her head to speak to everyone. "We leave NOW! Everyone start your way down the tunnel."

Hotaru, Yukari, and Shiina go first down a ladder than Ed had thoughtfully made then Musubi and Kusano. Ed follows them as he rested enough to make it down without needing help. Next are Tsukiumi and Takami, then Kagari and Kazahana. Yashima follows Kazahana. Matsu and Miya are all that are left.

The with the parts of the building falling down, Miya takes one last look at her house that her ex-husband had built and all of the memories she had shared with everyone. Matsu tugs gently on her sleeve.

"I know it is hard leaving behind that last thing that Takehito-tan left you, but is just a building. What's important is the memories you have of him in your heart. You know that is true immortality. Now it's time to make some new memories with your new husband."

Matsu climbs down the ladder and Miya quickly follows. With one last look with the house literally falling down around her, she descends about 5 feet before the hole is closes in a blue flash. She climbs down about 10 meters before hitting solid ground.

She turns to find Ed's hands once more on the ground and his eyes closed. The tunnel is lit by several electric lanterns held by Takami, Kazahana, and Musubi. The tunnel is bigger than she anticipated: wide enough for 4 people to walk shoulder to shoulder and just tall enough for someone to walk without stooping. When she looks back to Ed, she sees him get to his feet and wipe his hands off.

"There, that should do it. I filled the entrance to the tunnel all the way down to just above here. It would take hours to find this tunnel. I didn't have time to extend the tunnel out underneath the river but I got it to about the MBI building. I will have to finish the tunnel, but not tonight. I'm exhausted." Ed leans against a wall.

"How many supplies did we get?" Miya begins to get the inventory.

"We got 2 dozen bottles of water. I figure that the MBI party can take all but a few as we will have Tsukiumi with us to refill the water bottles." Minato says as he reaches into a black backpack and shows them the water bottles.

"Kagari and I got 5 bed rolls. We could have gotten more if we hadn't been in such a rush." Takami says rather huffed.

"5 will have to do. I can make the dirt softer, but I can't make beds or covers. What about food?"

Matsu and Kusano reach into a large duffle bag and pulls out canned and dry goods. "I'm not sure how many days we can go on this, but we got as much as we could put in this bag."

"I guess you guys and Minato can take most of the food. I can make a tunnel for Yashima or Hotaru to go to the supermarket for some food. And finally what about lights?"

Musubi jumps at her task. "Musubi got a lot of flashlights and batteries!" She opens her bag and batteries of all sizes spill out of the bag onto the floor.

"Why can't I just use my fire?" Hotaru asks. Her hair turns bright orange in the low light.

"I thought about that too but because of the limited amount of oxygen down here, it's not a good idea. I will make some oxygen vents to the surface and then I suggest we all get some sleep. Miya can you divide up the covers?"

Miya nods and moves to Kagari and Takami and Ed creates some air vents that go to the surface, away from the wreckage that MBI is most certainly going through. He also loosens up the dirt they are walking on a little. By the time he finishes Miya has distributed the blankets. He finds a flashlight and checks in on everybody.

Ed chuckles as he finds Minato already asleep under a blanket of breasts. They are all under the biggest blanket with Minato getting the pillow. Ed moves on to Yashima and Hotaru as they share a pillow and a blanket.

"How are you ladies doing? Anything I can get you?"

Hotaru gives him a look and lays her head back down on the pillow, but Yashima sits up and gives him a hug earning her a glare from Hotaru.

"Thanks for everything. I wish you and Miya good luck and a very long life. I can never repay you and Miya for your kindness."

Ed hugs her back. "It's not a problem. I wish that your Ashikabi had changed, but some people in this world are just bad people and there is nothing you can say or do that can change them. Get a good night's rest. I'll see you ladies in the morning."

Ed moves off as Yashima lies back down and pulls the covers back and quickly falls asleep. Ed finishes his rounds with Kagari, Takami, and Yukari and Shiina and finally makes his way back to Miya, who has already gotten underneath a blanket. Ed gets in behind her and shuts off the light.

"What did Yashima say?" Miya asks him quietly.

"She just told me thank you and said she can't ever repay us. She also wished us a long and happy life. That didn't go over well with Hotaru, but I think she is getting over me."

"I hope so because we don't need her cracking now… now that we don't have an Inn to return to." Ed hears the sadness in her voice.

Ed wraps his arms around her stomach and holds her close to him. "That can't be easy, knowing that MBI right now is combing through the remains of the house you and Takehito built. All those memories and treasures are gone. I'm really sorry Miya.

"I know what it is like to not have a home to return to. But my brother and I chose to burn our house down. But this is partly good to. You are free to start over and make new memories and new treasures. Sometimes starting over is a good thing. Hopefully I will be in those memories."

Miya turns around and would look into his eyes if she could see them. She reaches out and puts her hand in his cheek. "Of course you will be there. Did you think that I wouldn't choose to stay with you?"

"I was rather hoping you would, but I wasn't going to choose for you. That is a decision that you have to make."

Ed hears Miya shake her head against the pillow. "I don't live just for myself anymore. You own a part of me that no one else can or ever will. And it's not just my decision. Sometimes you have to fight for the ones you love and claim them. You have to choose me as well."

Ed takes one of her hands and kisses the back of it. "I love you."

She smiles. "I love you too."

Ed holds her to his chest as he lies on his back. Miya uses his left side as a pillow like Minato is so good at being.

**

* * *

**

"Sir, we've searched the entire remains. There is no sign that they were in the building when it collapsed and none of the observers or Sekirei saw them leave."

Minaka turns around in his chair on the top floor of the MBI building and looks out the window. "Where did you go boy? A clever one, but not as clever as he thinks. Bring in the bulldozers and dig and dig and dig until you find something."

"Right away sir!"

The eager man practically runs out of the office.

**

* * *

**

Ed wakes to the falling of pieces of dirt from the ceiling. He grabs a flashlight and points it to the ceiling. Specks of dirt fall from above so much that he has to put his hands up to protect his eyes. He hears the faint whir of something mechanical and he is instantly sitting up and awake taking Miya up with him and waking her in the process.

"Everyone up! MBI is digging into the tunnel!" Miya springs up and grabs a second flashlight and helps Ed up. By that point everyone is awake and moving and packing things up. Ed claps and slams his hands into the ground a few seconds later he gets up.

"I just bought us some time. I changed the dirt above us to copper and brass for a few feet so the diggers should be delayed for a while before they bring in something to drill through metal. I need some time to finish the tunnel. Minato, your group should go ahead and start going down towards the river. We'll meet up after the mission. Good luck. I'll seal up the tunnel behind you so MBI doesn't know you guys are headed out of the city."

Minato and Ed shake hands and everyone says their goodbyes and Minato and his Sekirei all leave. Once they get about 100 meters away, Ed seals up the tunnel.

"Come on, we don't have much time."

Ed, Miya, Yukari, Shiina, Yashima, Hotaru, and Takami all head the other way towards MBI headquarters. Once they get about 50 meters down the tunnel, Ed makes a separate tunnel from where they spent the night which goes about 1,000 meters away and surfaces. He then seals up the route they are taking with 25 meters of solid dirt and a brass plate 3 feet think in the center of it and does the same thing for the other seal.

Still with his hands to the ground and out of immediate danger, Ed starts extending the tunnel Minato's group is in. He stays that way for about an hour before he slumps over onto the ground. Or he would have if Miya hadn't caught him and lowers him to the ground. She looks to see that he is completely passed out and sweating profusely. She takes a bottle of water and splashes some water on his face to clean off the sweat and cool him down. Deciding that he should sleep Miya picks him up and carries him with his head resting against her chest.

"Let's go. I don't know how much he did, but it was enough to make him pass out. And we need to get out of here."

Kagari leads the way down the tunnel and they walk for about an hour before they hit a dead end. Miya continues to carry Ed despite Kagari offering to carry him.

"Well, I guess we camp here until Ed wakes up." Miya sets Ed down against a wall and sits next to him. The rest of the ground follows suit and grabs some floor. They sit and eat and rest for a half hour before Miya dribbles water on Ed's face and he slowly wakes up.

"Good morning." Miya says through an amused smile.

Ed looks from Miya to the others to the wall of dirt blocking their path. Putting the pieces together he asks, "How long was I out?"

"About an hour and a half. We reached the end of the tunnel and we can't go any further without you." Miya informs him.

Ed gets up and stretches. Miya hands him her water which Ed takes and drinks with enthusiasm. The bottle is empty in seconds.

"Ah, much better. Thanks." He walks to the wall of dirt blocking their path.

"If I remember correctly, I was about 100 meters short of being right under the MBI building. I finished the other tunnel and now we wait for a few days. All we need is a few supplies and we are set." He helps Miya up and the rest get to their feet.

Ed leads them back down the tunnel some distance before stopping and transmuting an exit and more oxygen holes.

"I think Yashima, Yukari, and Shiina should go. Everyone here except for them is being actively hunted by MBI. Hotaru could have gone if she hadn't come to rescue me along with everyone else. "

"Well, I wouldn't be on the run if a certain someone hadn't been kidnapped." Hotaru says hotly.

Ignoring Hotaru, Miya steps forward. "You know what to get. Food, water, batteries, blankets. Here is some money. Be back as quickly as possible."

Hotaru looks away and Ed gives Miya a glance. Yashima, Shiina, and Yukari all go up the ladder and open the hatch. The conditions outside are perfect. The sky is still dark with no moon out. The three of them disappear from sight and close the hatch. In the mean time, Ed makes a makeshift bathroom that works like a port-a-potty with a vent that goes to the street. The group returns an hour later laden with supplies. After everything and everyone is down in the tunnel, Ed seals up the exit.

Satisfied with everything, Ed grabs a blanket and a pillow and takes a nap. A few minutes later when Miya crawls in next to him, he is sleeping heavily, his golden locks spilling out over his face.

**

* * *

**

"She said, "In two days I will no longer be your Sekirei." I don't know what she meant by that, but she sounded totally serious."

Minaka turns around in his chair and puts his hands under his chin completely disregarding the man sitting in front of him.

"So Takami-kun, you told them about our backdoor. This will be fun." Minaka picks up the phone.

**

* * *

**

Everyone is asleep with the rough night and the lack of sleep from the previous day. Everyone but Hotaru. She is up against a wall with a blanket over her as she eyes Ed and Miya sleep against each other.

She looks at Miya with hatred in her eyes. Miya, who stole her Ashikabi away from her and feigned ignorance. Who stole the limelight and swept her destined one away. She was the one who was supposed to recue Ed. Miya was supposed to be just an escort.

Why? Why did things have to turn out this way? Things were going to well when she got a chance to rescue him and show him how much she cares for him. But Miya got in the way and stole him. Of all the things that could have happened, this was the worst outcome.

Worse than if Ed had died, knowing that she can never be his and has to suffer and watch him with that wench. She grabs the clothing right over her heart in an attempt to quench the pain spewing from the split organ. Nothing helped the pain and it only worsens when she sees Ed show affection to that hussy.

Her seduction was so fast and so complete that within minutes after Miya was winged that Ed was convinced that he and Miya belonged together. Ed had then told her that she was the one mistaken, that her feelings were wrong. How had Miya done it so quickly?

She suddenly finds herself right over Ed. She feels the irresistible urge to kiss him. She leans in close to him and closes her eyes as her lips draw close to his. Her lips touch skin, but not his skin. She opens her eyes to find a hand in between her and Ed's lips.

"Hotaru, you had better have a very good explanation." Miya's voice is low and deadly. Hotaru backs off of Ed with tears in her eyes.

"You don't understand do you? How much it hurts to watch you two, to listen to you two, to even be in the same house as you two? You stole him away from me and now I have to suffer for your selfishness!" She spins away, her body shaking from silent sobs.

Miya disengages herself from Ed and sits by Hotaru.

"Your right, I don't understand. So make me."

Hotaru hangs her head.

"I love Ed with all my being. He saved me from the Ashikabi from the East and carried me to safety. He is kind and caring and nice. Then I get an opportunity to show him how I feel by risking myself by rescuing him and then you step in and take him away! You were supposed to kill Minaka. Not only did you fail in that, but you take away the person I was there to save. You seduced him and now he is all mushy with you. He is supposed to be all mushy and caring about me!" He voice is low, but no less full of emotion.

Tears are renewed and her body shakes even more. Miya sighs.

"Your right, I didn't think about all the consequences of my actions when I kissed him. When I opened the door to the roof, Minaka used and explosion to knock me unconscious and off of the roof. Ed dove off and saved me. My body was acted on its own accord. My body has never reacted to someone before, not even my ex-husband so imagine my surprise when I figured it out.

"I'm sorry I didn't consider your feelings. I didn't go to MBI to foil your plans. It just happened."

"It just happened." Hotaru looks at Miya with red eyes. " And that's supposed to make everything hunky-dory? You stole him away and that is something I can never forgive you for."

Miya looks to the ground. "I know that you care a great deal for Ed. If that is true than you should let him go and be happy that he is happy. I know how that sounds, but Ed has made his choice and you should respect that. From a woman to a woman, I know that is difficult. It is probably one of the most difficult things in the world to do.

"Look at Kazahana. She fell in love with the Director but was shot down. For 20 years she held on to that love and look where it has gotten her. She has gotten addicted to alcohol. Eventually she found Minato and her love for Minaka has gone away. I'm not saying to forget about Ed, but eventually someone else will come along and your feelings will eventually melt away. The love for Ed will always be a part of you, but it is the kind of thing that makes you stronger."

Hotaru shakes her head. "I don't want anyone else but Ed. When the reset happens I want you to let me have Ed as it should have been."

It is Miya's turn to shake her head. "Ed and I aren't just bonded by me being his Sekirei. We seem to have a connection deeper than most. It's as if we match each other so completely like two pieces of a puzzle. Add that to our marriage and no matter what DNA connection you take out, Ed's feelings won't change. " Miya unconsciously spins the ring on her left hand.

"It's weird. Our relationship progressed so fast it scares me a little. To love and trust Ed so much in such a short amount of time. You and the rest of the Sekirei don't know this, but Sekirei were originally designed to be with a specific Ashikabi and could only be winged by that person.

"MBI changed that. They genetically modified the rest of winging and reacting easier to it would speed up the timetable. I wasn't included in that modification. I am still pure Sekirei and therefore have only one person who can wing me. I had no idea that is was that it would act so fast. How it came to be Ed, I have no idea but Takehito once said, "The power of an Ashikabi is the power of fate." What I'm saying is that there is someone else out there for you, but Ed is the only one for me. You are young and will find someone else to love when the time is right."

Miya smiles at Hotaru who just looks at Miya. The gears turn and process the new information.

'Maybe Miya has a point. Maybe I'm just being short sighted. But I still can't forgive her, but I can understand.'

"Ed is a great guy and a very special one at that. I can't forgive you for what you did, but maybe I can understand."

Miya nods her head and puts a hand on Hotaru's shoulder. "I can't ask for anything more."

**

* * *

**

Meanwhile Minato and company arrive at a hill overlooking main MBI base.

Minato grabs a set of binoculars that Musubi (how he doesn't know) had the insight to bring.

"It looks like security is pretty tight. The biggest problem will be getting inside without being detected."

Matsu beside him pulls a data pad out of her cleavage.

"Mina-tan, maybe we make a distraction and sneak in from another side."

Minato thinks about it. "No, we need to stay together. We work better as a whole. If we had more time and Sekirei, we could do that, but I think a surprise attack is best here." Minato looks at Matsu's data pad on which has a map of the base.

"I think we can enter here on an unguarded section through the fence. Once inside Musubi and Ku-chan can take out the barracks. Tsukiumi, you can take out the vehicles. Kazahana, you can take out the personnel on duty. Matsu and I will look for the ship and where the Sekirei are being held. I would prefer that nobody dies, but if it is necessary…"

"I can look up and find out the guard rotations, vehicle information, personnel files, and locate what we are here for before we enter the base."

Everyone stares at her.

"What? Did you think that I didn't have an ability? I can wirelessly access and monitor data. With my Norito I can upload data. Before I do that, I have to break into the server and that can take some time since they upgraded their systems every time I hack into them."

"Well Mats-san, it appears that we wait for you to be done."

**

* * *

**

Darkness falls and Matsu finally broke the encryption of the server. She quickly finds the data she is looking for and exits the system before she is detected. Everyone moves to the West side and they finally prepare to enter the base around 1.

"Mina-tan, let me use my Norito and I can upload a virus that will disrupt their communications devices and lock them out."

Minato rubs the back of his head. "Ok Mats-san. Let's give this a try.

**

* * *

**

"Convoy Baby Tiger to Mama Tiger, come in."

"This is Mama Tiger. What is your status?"

"We are approaching the East Gate now, requesting clearance."

"Clearance granted. Gate 3 is opening."

"Thanks Mama Tiger, Baby Tiger out."

**

* * *

**

Just as Matsu get close to kissing Minato, Kazahana interrupts him.

"Wait everyone down!"

They all hit the deck as 6 hummers, 4 Bradley APCs, and 8 M1A1 Abram tanks as escorts pull into the base. Squad after squad of full armed and ready soldiers pours out of the hummers and APCs.

They overhear two men they assume to be the convoy commander and the commanding officer of the base.

"Convoy reporting in, Sir. We got orders from Papa Tiger that the base is about to be attacked and we were sent as backup."

"We just got the orders in from headquarters. I don't know what kind of attack he is expecting, but it doesn't look like much is happening. Surveillance hasn't picked up anything closer than 10 miles (Cuz Matsu hacked the satellite)."

"Fuck yeah, that wacko probably sent us out here on a goose chase again. I swear that guy is totally off his rocker."

"And what's with the call signs? I hear he picked them himself. He must have something for tigers."

"Or cats. I hear the base on the Island is named Cheetah or of Leopard or some shit like that."

"Anyways, orders are to step up security. Your boys can rest in the barrack and I'll send some extra patrols out. Who know, maybe that geezer is right for a change. I'll incorporate your squad's in later. Get your vehicles to the parking lot or maintenance and get your men some rest. Dismissed."

Minato and the others look at each other, not believing their horrible luck.

"How did Minaka find out?" Tsukiumi hisses.

"We need to go back and get a new plan of attack. These new soldiers completely jeopardize the mission." Matsu sounds very concerned.

"Wait. Maybe we can use your idea. Create a diversion and draw the enemy out and tire them out. Only do it with their satellite. They relay too much on it. We can send out false signals and get them frustrated and tire them out. Then we let them "fix" the problem and we create a lot of false signals to send most of the troops out and then we attack."

"That's good and all and well within my capabilities, but we are running on a time schedule here. Thanks to Kazahana using the wind to carry us here and neutralizing the satellite we time up. Right now we have 12-15 hours to get in and trigger the reset."

"It won't take all that long. We trigger a decoy in about an hour making the soldiers wake up in the middle of the night. Once they return, we trigger another one about 2-3 hours later sending them out again. After this, it should be about 5 or 6 in the morning. We then wait about 6 to 7 hours for them to "fix" a problem that you are going to implant. Then you create a large number of "enemy hostiles" and they will probably send most of their troops out.

"Then you upload the virus that you were going to tonight and stop their communications and then we attack. Once that is taken care of, we trigger the reset. After that is complete, we ambush the returning soldiers who will be tired and frustrated at the goose chases. In assuming it will take 30 minutes total each time the soldiers leave and 10-15 minutes to take the base and trigger the reset, we should end about 10:15 to 12:15 that the reset is triggered."

Matsu thinks over plan. "I have to hand it to you Mina-tan. I like the confidence you have right now. You should be this confident more often."

**

* * *

**

9 hours later, Ed and the group are sitting in the tunnel talking and trying to make the time go faster. Mostly it is Ed talking about Amestris and his adventures with Al. Miya is most interested when he gets to his tale of Aquroya and his run in with Claire.

"I was chasing her and she played a dirty trick and got a away." He tells the group, turning to hide the blush on his face as he remembers what really went on. But Miya can feel his embarrassment and decides to pay him back for the gym incident.

"Is that all that occurred?" She asks slyly.

Ed's face changes colors rapidly from a slight pink to a very heavy red in a matter of seconds. Miya enjoys watching his reaction.

Chuckling, Takami looks down at her watch and sighs. "It's almost time to for our decoy group to leave."

Yashima, Hotaru, Yukari, and Shiina all get up off the ground and stretch and walk around a little bit, forcing their unused bodies to move and shake loose the fatigue. Everyone eats and then they are gone. Ed seals up the hole and looks at Takami.

"You know, there has been wondering about Takami."

She looks at him a little surprised. "Fire away Ed."

"It's obvious that you and Kagari or should I say Homura care for each other, so why don't you wing him?"

Takami's eyes bulge and Kagari turns away to hide his blush.

"It is something Miya and I agree on. You should be the one to wing him. I think it is only fair. You two practically are together constantly now for days, the only thing that is missing is the actual ceremony."

"It's… it's not like that kind of a relationship. We have…"

"Sorry for interrupting, but I have known you both for a very long time and you both have acted this way for a while now. Going out to see each other, going out to dinner, having shrimp cocktails by the river. I've noticed it. I pointed it out to Ed and he sees the same thing."

Kagari turns to face Miya. "So in other words you spied on us and know every move we make?"

"You make it sound so dirty. You know that certain parts of the house are wiretapped. And I can't help it if I smell cigarettes and shrimp on you when you come back. We wouldn't bring it up if it wasn't true. This is a prime chance. In a few hours the reset will happen and if you don't want to stay with each other than you don't have to, but I don't think that will be the case."

Ed steps back in. "Look, it is just food for thought. Miya and I are going to go and finish the tunnel, you two can rest up and we will see you in a few minutes." Ed grabs a flashlight and Miya's hand and they walk down the tunnel leaving Kagari and Takami alone.

Ed and Miya reach the end of the tunnel and a bright red light is seen from where they just came from and Ed and Miya share a smile.

**

* * *

**

Benitsubasa, Haihane, and Karasuba are in the newly rebuild reception hall on the bottom floor of the MBI building waiting for orders from Natsu. They got wind of a large group of Sekirei and Ashikabi gathering at a park not far from here and are waiting to be sent out.

"This is boring! Why can't we just go and teach them a lesson?" Benitsubasa complains. Her pink hair tied back in a bun.

"Because we don't move without authorization. You know that. We wait." Karasuba doesn't look up as she polishes and oils her sword. She looks in her reflection on the sword when a blinding blue light comes from the floor. A loud explosion-like sound and dust and dirt get thrown into the air. The three members of the Disciplinary Squad looks and sees a figure in the settling dirt.

The air clears and before them stands a woman with purple hair.

"Ah Miya, I was wondering where you had run off to."

* * *

End Chapter 14


	15. Chapter 15: A Clash of Swords

**Chapter 15: A Clash of Swords**

Miya stands before the current Disciplinary Squad her own uniform. Her sword, Totsuga no Tsurugi, already out of the sheath. Benitsubasa is the first to break the tension.

"Who are you? And why do you have a uniform like that? Only members of the Disciplinary Squad have uniforms like that. Who is this woman Karasuba?"

Miya stares coldly at her. "I've heard a lot about you, Benitsubasa. It seems you aren't all that bright. The answer would seem to be obvious."

"Whatever grandma. I'll just have to beat you and take the uniform."

Benitsubasa rushes Miya. Benitsubasa jumps into the air and rotates her body. She spins around and at the last second throws out her legs in a round house. There is a blast of wind and she flies past Miya without getting in a hit. Karasuba gives an exasperated sigh. Miya hadn't moved a muscle.

"I think introductions are in order. Benitsubasa meet Miya, # 1 and former leader of the first generation Disciplinary Squad. Together with me and 3 others we killed to defend Kamikura Island from invaders. I handled the infantry while Miya here sank 3 ships with just that sword in her hand. Be glad you lived."

Miya turns to look at her. "You live today only because you are young and ignorant."

"What are you tal…" The clothes on Benitsubasa fall off in strips and cuts appear on almost every inch of her body. She collapses on the floor in a cloud of misted blood.

She tries to get up, but the blood loss is too much and she collapses to the floor again. Haihane wisely backs off and leaves to report this to Natsu and Minaka.

"This fight is long overdue. I've been bored with the level of Sekirei that we have fought. Even Mu-chan was a disappointment. The only thing that came close was the last time you were here and I fought 3 and 6, but even that was a letdown.

"Let's take this outside, shall we? We just finished rebuilding the area." Karasuba accelerates and Miya easily blocks but it forces her out a window into the street. Karasuba quickly follows her and soon the two are slashing and dancing all over the street using buildings, cars, even some bystanders.

Karasuba lands on top of a stand serving sushi (probably spoiled) and Miya swings her sword so fast that it creates sonic wave that cuts right through the stand causing Karasuba to lose her balance.

Miya is on her but Karasuba is able to deflect and spring backs with Miya fast on her heels.

* * *

Back at MBI, Ed, Takami, and Homura climb out of the hole in the ground and make their way to the elevators. They hear the sounds of the raging battle outside. Something catches Ed's eye and he tells them to go ahead and he will catch up. He crosses the room and sees a bloodied and almost passed out Benitsubasa on the floor. Ed takes off his jacket and puts it over her torso to cover her up.

She looks up at him in surprise and alarm. "What? Why are you here? Wait, why did you do that? I kidnapped you last time and you stop and think about my modesty?"

"I just wanted you to know that I don't hate you or blame you for what happened. In fact, I'm rather glad you kidnapped me. Because you did I found the love of my life. I know that you probably don't want others to look at your body so I thought you would appreciate it. Also, your body is in shock enough from the blood loss. The last thing it needs to do is fight off the cold to." He gives her a smile and turns to leave.

"If no one comes to pick you up we will come by and get you on the way out. Something tells me by the time Miya and Karasuba are done this building won't be here."

Ed runs off to catch up with Takami and Homura and leaves Benitsubasa behind, her brain still trying to figure out why he would be that nice or even care about her.

Ed catches up to Homura and Takami as the elevator doors open and the three of them step inside.

"What was that about?" Homura asks clearly interested about Ed's missing jacket and the blood on his shoes.

"I was just helping out someone in need. Nothing more."

The elevator starts on its long journey up to the higher floors. Ed finds himself thinking of just before he created the hole in the ground at MBI.

_Miya and Ed are at the end of the in the newly finished tunnel right under MBI. Kagari and Takami give them some privacy to get ready. Miya takes her sash and chihaya jacket off and reveals her Disciplinary outfit underneath it. Also she pulls out Totsuga no Tsurugi out of a shoulder holster that conceals the weapon but makes it available through her sleeve or the front of her jacket. _

_"So that is where you keep it. I always wondered. You should patent that. You could make a lot of money off of it."_

_"Ed, every woman must have her secrets. You just found out about one of them. Now think back for a second. Did you feel it when we slept last night?"_

_He puts his right hand to his forehead and thinks back. "You know what, I can't. Where did you hide it?"_

_Miya smirks at him as she takes off her hakama* and reveals the rest of her outfit. _

_"As I said, every woman has her secrets."_

_She discards the hakama and feels two arms snake around her abdomen. _

_"You know you can't die right? I don't know what I would do without you." Ed speaks very softly, tickling her neck._

_"I won't die. Even Karasuba doesn't stand much of a chance and she knows it."_

_"But it has been a while since you fought someone even close you your level. I just don't want you to under estimate her."_

_"I know, but you worry too much and have more faith in me."_

_He spins her around and kisses her. She her hands instinctively find his long hair and she runs her fingers through it._

_"I can't have more faith in you than I already have. It is the job of the spouse to worry when his wife knowingly is going to get into a fight that could level a 100 story building and take half the city with it. I don't want to bury you." His face barely in inch from hers._

_Tears come to his eyes at the thought and Miya wipes them away. "Thank you for your concern. It is more than welcome. Thank you for caring enough about me to be worried." She wraps him in a hug and holds him tightly._

_"I wish I could help you out, but I know I will just be in the way." There is no hiding the pain in his voice._

_She hugs him tighter wishing that they didn't have to fight and leave her husband feeling so insecure. Having to leave the heavy fighting to her, no matter how he tries to hide it, hurts Ed's pride as a man. A man is supposed to fight to protect his wife, not the other way around. For Miya to be beyond Ed in terms of fighting means that she can protect him far better than he can protect her. That is the knowledge that hurts._

_"It's ok to let me take care of you. You know that me being a better fighter has no impact on your status as a man. You have saved me and defended my honor more times than I can count. You more than satisfy all my needs. More importantly, you have made me very happy and I am proud to call you my husband."_

_Tears well up again in Ed's eyes. "I don't know what I did to deserve you. Clearly I still don't."_

_"Of course you don't. And that's why you do."_

_"Am I interrupting something?" Kagari's voice comes from down the tunnel. _

_"Not if you don't consider a tender moment something. What to you need?" Ed asks. He slides around Miya to look at Kagari. Ed now has his arms loosely around her neck and his head resting on top of hers._

_Kagari steps into the light of Ed's flashlight (which is on the ground). He is wearing the black outfit with the mask Ed had first seen him wear. _

_"Ah well Takami and I are ready to go. She will collect some valuable data with you, Ed. I will go to Minaka and kill him."_

_"You know you don't have to kill him. This plan will pretty much put MBI out of business. Even if Minaka doesn't die, the building along with all the data inside will be destroyed. The main MBI army base will be put out of action as well. Even if MBI doesn't go under, it will still be severely weakened and forced to abandon the Sekirei Plan."_

_"No. The plan is tied to Minaka. If he dies then so does the plan. he will just pick it up later."_

_Ed puts up his hands. "It's your decision. But think about this first. There are Sekirei that ignored the Sekirei Plan to begin with and MBI, at the height of its power, couldn't make them take part. With the success of this plan, MBI will be in no shape to enforce the Sekirei Plan to any kind of degree. We will be able to leave and do whatever we want without interference. So why is killing Minaka necessary?"_

_"Why are you defending this guy? He nearly killed you and your wife!"_

_"I'm not going to deny that he would deserve it, but one life does not equal another. Killing a person just because he deserves it is never justified. If you do this your life will be changed forever. Mine was when I killed a guy named Greed. He kidnapped my brother and tried to gain immortality. He and I fought and I didn't mean to kill him, but I did. I carry that around and always will. Miya will tell you the same thing. She killed hundreds while in the Disciplinary Squad. She regrets those deaths even today.  
_

_"They say that it fades with time, but let me tell you I remember it just as vividly as the second the life left him. The question is, can you deal with knowing that you killed a man in cold blood, justified or not, for the rest of your life, which, from what I understand is a very long time?"_

_Takami turns to Homura. "Look, I know the decision is yours to make, but I would prefer the Minato and Yukari to be able to get to know their father in the future. I have to tell them at some point and I want them to be able to get to know him. Kill him if you have to, but try not to. I won't judge either way"_

_"That's not fair! I'm getting ambushed here. Miya help me out here!"_

_Miya shakes her head. "I have to agree with my husband on this one. As much as I want to kill him for causing the death of Takehito, Ed is right. One life does not equal another. Killing in hatred will only cause more hatred. The cycle has to be broken somewhere and I'm choosing to break it"_

_"Look, all we are saying is to give it some thought. We aren't going to make the choice for you, but it is something to think about." Ed says with a smile._

_Ed turns around and puts his hands to the wall behind him and with a bang opens an entrance into MBI._

A jolt brings Ed out of his thoughts as the elevator suddenly stops about 20 floors from the intended place. The elevator door opens and the air is instantly full of bullets. Hundreds of rounds pour into the open elevator. As random rounds find the ceiling, it chips pieces and the entire section right before the elevator drops to the floor, creating a large dust cloud.

The air is suddenly quiet as each magazine clicks empty. When the dust settles, they find an elevator riddled with holes, but no bodies, not even any blood. Perplexed, the lieutenant in charge sends a soldier to investigate when the entire corridor is filled with fire.

**

* * *

**

Down in the street below, Miya and Karasuba continue to battle. 5 buildings and more cars than can be counted lie in ruins along. One building was actually toppled over.

"Ah, this is exhilarating. I was wasting my efforts trying to get Mu-chan to improve. I should have just gone to you." Karasuba stands on top of the remains of a building, looking down at Miya. Her clothes are torn and slashed and has a cut along the left side of her face, washing her face in blood.

Miya on the other hand has torn clothes with a few very minor cuts.

Suddenly an explosion high up on the MBI building get both their attention. Fire spews out of the building. The entire floor looks to be on fire as black smoke rises out of the marred building.

"What's the matter? It looks like your little plan isn't going all that well. You look like you want to join them."

Miya shakes her head. "I have faith in them, just like they have faith in me. That fire is Homura's fire meaning that a lot of people just died. It would have been even more if the alarm hadn't been sounded when Ed first broke through the ground. Now, shall we get serious?"

Miya disappears from sigh and Karasuba's eyes go wide.

'So this is the power of #1. She has been playing with me this entire time. Look, she is so fast that it left a mirage.' Karasuba closes her eyes and lets her reflexes and training take over. She brings her sword up into an overhead block just in time to stop Miya's sword from taking off her head. The remains under them crack and buckle under the force of the hit, forcing Karasuba to a knee to keep from falling over.

Miya presses down on Karasuba's blade. Her blade slides off Karasuba's and uses the momentum of her blade to flip over Karasuba and kicks her in the back. Karasuba flies forward but her feet find a piece of wreckage and she bounds back at Miya, her sword directed right at her heart. Miya bounces backward and Karasuba pursues her. Miya bounds around off of buildings, cars, street light, sign posts, whatever she can use to move in a different direction all the while blocking and trading strikes with Karasuba.

Miya slashes her sword and creates several sonic waves directed right at Karasuba, who manages to duck and weave her way out of danger, but just barely. Chunks of her sleeve and short skirt flutter to the ground. The strikes that missed completely reduce 3 buildings in a row to useless rubble and chunks of concrete in a cloud of dust.

Miya lets loose with more sonic waves and Karasuba continues to barely dodge them. Building after building gets destroyed and crumbles to the ground like oversized dominoes. Miya stops the sonic waves and moves in. She clashes her sword with Karasuba's and pushes as hard as she can.

A resounding *CRACK*. Both combatants look down to see that Karasuba's sword now has cracks running down the length of the blade.

**

* * *

**

Ed runs with Takami down a corridor towards her office. Homura went up the stairs to find Minaka while they download as much data as they can. They reach her office.

"I'll seal you in incase something happens to me. You should be fine. Just knock if you need out." Takami nods her head.

Ed then does just that. He pulls some of the steel out of the building and uses it to make a foot think door of steel. He turns around and finds the second member of the Disciplinary Squad.

"#104, Haihane. Thanks for covering up flatty-chan. She is at a hospital now recovering."

"Flatty-chan?" Ed wonders for second before he remembers putting his jacket over Benitsubasa. "Oh that's good."

"But still, orders are to eliminate threat. No hard feelings." Haihane charges.

Ed stands his ground and winds up a roundhouse kick with his right foot, forcing her to brace for the kick when Ed stops the kick and jumps with his other leg and plants a jumping front kick to Haihane's chin. Blood spurts from her mouth as she flies back a few feet.

"Hmm, not bad for a human."

Ed makes his signature arm blade and attacks. Ed swipes at Haihane and she just slashes through the steel like it was butter. She brings in her other claw and slashes his face open in 3 different places and sends him flying back into the door he created with a resounding thud.

**

* * *

**

Miya gets a felling in her gut and pushes off Karasuba, who is too busy looking at her sword. She looks up to the upper floors of MBI and focuses on that feeling. Miya takes her sword and sends a sonic wave up towards the top floor of the skyscraper. She then turns to Karasuba who has is spacing out.

**

* * *

**

Haihane closes in on Ed who is slumped on the floor, unconscious. She is about 5 feet away when a blast of energy rips through the building. Haihane looks down at her hands and finds that her talons, all 10 of them, are cut off. She stares in disbelief and looks up just in time to see Ed roundhouse kick her in the face with his left leg. It sends her back and through a wall stud and she slumps against a printer where she doesn't get up.

**

* * *

**

"Look what you have done. You broke my sword. Exquisite. I have never had this rush before. I need more!" She rushes Miya and goes on the offensive, despite her sword's condition.

Slash, slash, thrust, reverse and slash. Karasuba is lost in blood lust. Miya is actually having trouble keeping up. Miya parries a thrust and plants a side kick directly into Karasuba's open middle. She flies through the air and collides with a building, going through the wall. She picks herself off the ground and leaps out of the hole and rushes right back into combat.

The ferocity of the fight ramps up. Both parties now are starting to show wear and tear making their desire to win over the other that much greater. The fight devolves into draws out into a slug match, trading slash for slash, fist for fist. The ground cracks and Miya being less injured gradually takes control and gains the upper hand. With an enormous slash, she clears Karasuba's sword and puts all her might into a front kick that connects with her opponent's chest.

Once again Karasuba flies back, breaking the sound barrier before colliding with a different building. The force of the impact forces Karasuba through the wall, bashing and breaking several load bearing supports and out the other side of the building and finally stopping as she hits the building behind it. The building she just went through falls in on itself. Karasuba's head is pounding. She puts her hand to the back of her head. When she pulls her hand away she finds blood all over it. She tries to push herself to her feet, but the sharp tip of a sword prevents her from doing to.

"Yield! I have won."

Karasuba looks around and spots her sword. The blade is broken off and littered around the ground. The hilt is broken in half. She laughs.

"That was good. Very good. Oh my god that was great. We should do it again sometime." A sated look overcomes her face and she passes out.

Miya takes inventory. She finds that she is bleeding from several cuts, some deep, on her arms and legs. From the feel of it, she has a couple of broken ribs and a fractured collarbone. Her right ankle is twisted and she has a slight concussion. She now feels the entirety of her injuries now that the adrenaline gone from her system.

She has one thought in her head and limps back towards the entrance to the MBI building.

**

* * *

**

A few minutes later:

Yukari sits on a bench at the designated waiting spot. Shiina, Yashima, and Hotaru are keeping an eye out for trouble. In the distance Yashima sees two figures approach. They get closer and Yashima sees that it is Asami and her Ashikabi.

Overjoyed, Yashima runs and embraces her friend. Instead of feeling two arms come around her, she feels a sharp object enter her stomach. She steps away and finds the end of a quarter staff imbedded in her stomach.

"Why?" is all she got out before she collapses.

Asami kneels down and rips open the back of Yashima's shirt. Asami touches her exposed Crest.

"Because the payoff from MBI is worth it."

She recites her Norito and the Sekirei Crest disappears.

Shiina, having just gotten there to greet them looks on with horror. He runs back to Yukari.

"Doushitano Shiina?" (What's wrong?)

"Asami and her Ashikabi sold us out. She just stabbed Yashima and took her Crest. And they are headed this way."

**

* * *

**

At the same time:

Musubi rips open a section of the fence large enough for everyone to climb through. Matsu already drew off the soldiers and planted the virus.

Ku-chan, holding a plant, accelerates the growth and wraps up each of the aluminum barracks and crushes them like a child's play thing. A few get out but are quickly dispatched my Musubi's fists. Their job done, Musubi and Ku-chan make their way to the hanger, knocking or wrapping up any soldiers they find.

Tsukiumi walks calmly toward the "parking lot". It is a large open field. Her lucky day. Gathering water around her, she soaks the ground and the tanks due to their massive weight sink a foot into the saturated ground. Next she uses her Water Celebration to push over the jeeps and hummers and also floods the gas tanks with water for good measure.

Tsukiumi then walks off to the hanger.

Kazahana goes over to the command center and opens the door. The officers and crew are all bustling about not even noticing her. One private, his eyes on his notepad, walks right into a pair of mammoth purple breasts, jarring him from his notes.

"Excuse me miss…" realization hits him like a ton of bricks. Clearly not thinking, he grabs her boobs. Infuriated at his nerve, she sends him crashing across the room knocking over many others.

"Idiot. Only one person it allowed to do that and you most definitely aren't him."

Everyone in the center stops moving and silence fills the room as they all look at her.

A blush crosses her face. "What are all of you looking at?" Every guy in that room is now drooling.

"Perverts." She sends a strong gust of wind and creates a tornado in the room, effectively destroying it and knocking out everyone in side.

Next she goes and destroys the guard towers at all the gates then joins Minato.

Matsu and Minato had just entered the ship when Musubi and Ku catch up to them.

"Musubi and Ku are done!"

"That's great Musubi-chan, Ku-chan. Great job!"

"Mina-tan, here is the bridge. It will take me a few minutes to find the reset."

"That's fine Mats-san. It will give everyone time to regroup."

The door opens to the bridge and everyone turns. A massive burst of wind and 6 men in uniforms are blasted into the room. Kazahana steps through after them.

"They were trying to ambush you. But I couldn't let them ambush my Ashikabi-kun!" She pulls him into her breasts and he lets out a gush of blood from his nose.

Another door opens and a wave of water enters the bridge and soaks everyone. From the door floats 5 more men in uniform and Tsukiumi steps out.

"Humph, trying to ambush him." She spots Kazahana with Minato gasping for air between her breasts.

"What are you doing to my husband? Let him go!"

"Musubi is his wife too!" Musubi tackles Tsukiumi to the floor.

A vein pops out of Tsukiumi's forehead and she gathers water around her.

"Stop it!"

Instantly the water around her falls to the ground. She looks to find Minato free of Kazahana's death pillows.

"Minato?" he almost never raises his voice.

"Stop fighting each other. We just took out and entire military base and you guys want to fight some more!"

Tsukiumi looks down at the floor.

"Mina-tan. I found it. It will take about 5 minutes to go off after I set it."

"Do it. Let's go to greet our friends."

**

* * *

**

Miya closes in on the base of the MBI building slowly. She hadn't realized just how far they had fought across. Miya stops for a second and surveys the damage.

The surrounding building are gone, nothing but a long pile of rubble. Cars litter the now empty street. Some smashed, some on fire, some cut into pieces. The street is broken and chunks are missing. The main MBI building, the tallest in Tokyo, now stands alone in a warzone. A thick dust hangs over the area, coating everything in a heavy, asthma inducing layer.

Miya continues to limp towards where she knows her caretaker is. She is about 100 feet away when a wall of flames erupts in front of her, denying her entrance. Through the flames steps a woman with orange hair and bright crimson eyes.

"Ah, Miya. I was starting to worry about you."

"Hotaru, what are you doing?"

"Oh, taking what is mine. I'll be taking your place as Ed's wife."

"What? What about our conversation?"

"Oh that. That was me trying to convince myself that you were right. It didn't work very well. As soon as I got away from those 3, I came here and waited for you. I know I can never beat you at full strength, but it looks like my hopes have come true. Karasuba injured you just enough. And any second now, you will be severed from your Ashikabi, reducing your power even further. So, shall we dance?"

**

* * *

**

"What is the meaning of this Asami?"

"What does it look like? We gave MBI all the information you guys told us. Right now, your group at the base should be captured and the disciplinary squad should be here to help us deal with you and your "allies" momentarily."

"It can't be. My brother couldn't have been captured." Yukari sinks to her knees and weeps. Shiina puts his hands around her shoulder protectively.

**

* * *

**

Ed looks out of the upper windows and spots a wall of fire on the ground. He also sees a ball of orange bobbing and weaving.

"Takami do you have something that I can use to magnify my eyesight?"

A little confused, she opens her desk drawer and hands him a set of binoculars.

"Turn this dial here to focus the lenses."

Ed puts them to his face and looks down to the orange ball and focuses the sights. What he sees turns his blood to ice. He sees a woman with orange hair attacking, and from he can tell from that distance winning, against a woman in dark clothes and purple hair.

"Hotaru, damn you!"

Ed grabs a spare jacket and puts it on and leaps out the window, leaving a bewildered Takami behind him. She finds the binoculars and understands when she sees the scene below.

**

* * *

**

"Hold on everybody. The reset will trigger in 5…4…3…2…1…0"

* * *

End Chapter 15

* A hakama is a traditional clothing item usually worn over a kimono. It is tied at the waist and falls to about the ankles. While women in the past wore hakamas only to formal event, Miya breaks with tradition by wearing one everyday


	16. Chapter 16: Reset

**Chapter 16: Reset**

Minato and his Sekirei are in the medical bay waiting for the reset to trigger.

"Hang on everyone. The reset will trigger in 5…4…3…2…1…0."

Everyone waits and stands still. Nothing happens. They wait for a very tense minute.

"Did it work? Are you sure the mechanism is working?" Minato asks Matsu.

"As far as I can tell, yes it is wor…" Matsu stops talking. Her eyes roll back and her crest begins to glow.

"Mats-san, are you ok?" Minato asks curiously. When Matsu doesn't answer Minato starts to worry. He looks around to the rest of the women for support, but finds all of them in the same unresponsive state.

Minato starts to panic. He starts to pace and loose his mind when the wings of all his Sekirei appear. Just like when they were winged, the wings flare in brightness. All five of the Sekirei are standing with wings exposed. Then suddenly the wings shatter and they all drop to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

**

* * *

**

All across Tokyo, Sekirei are becoming unresponsive then their wings shatter.

At the park, every Sekirei's wings are exposed. Yukari looks on in awe/horror as Shiina is unresponsive and rather creepy looking with the whites of his eyes. Even Yashima, who is unconscious, has her wings exposed. Then one by one, all the wings shatter and the Sekirei all fall to the ground.

**

* * *

**

Hotaru looks at Miya's helpless state. She grins manically and walks forward. She stops about a foot from Miya.

"See, I am the victor in the end. You should have just given up and you would have lived." Her hair and eye color changes to gold. She is about to snap her fingers when something very hard and cold hits her face and sends her flying across the war zone.

She hits a charred car with a bang. She shakes herself lose and gets up. She looks to find Ed's fist still extended from where he hit her. Ed is breathing rather hard and bleeding out of a couple of gashed in his face. He looks at Miya when her wings erupt out of her body in a blinding flash of light. When the flash dies down, the wings are exposed. Hotaru gets up and walks toward Ed.

"It's ok now Ed. Her spell over you is going to be broken, and then we can be together as we should have been from the beginning." She stops dead in her tracks when she hears his voice.

"You…you…you are a fucking goddamn bitch!" Ed snarls at her. His hazel eyes resemble molten gold. Fury covers every part of his body.

"Did you really think that Miya put a "spell" over me? Can you really be that fucking stupid?" Ed's voice is dripping with hatred and disgust.

Hotaru has never seen this side of Ed. While he can't produce demons like Miya, his tone and the way this body is moving scares Hotaru out of her mind. Ed has never been this angry. He was angry when Tucker used Nina. He was angry when his dad was flirting with Ross. He was angry when he saw Yashima get hit by her Ashikabi. This fury is different. This fury leaves the rest of them behind. He is so angry he is literally seeing red.

"You're under her control. Soon it will be broken. Just hang on." Hotaru steps closer to him.

"Don't you fucking dare come any closer or so help me you will not live long enough for Miya to kill you!" He slams his hands to the ground and blocks of concrete shoot out of the ground and holds her tightly from all sides. Her hands are completely encased so she can't snap her fingers. Satisfied that she cannot get free, Ed takes a few minutes to calm himself down. When he is sufficiently cooled enough think again, he goes over to Miya.

He takes her hand. "Miya, can you hear me? Come on snap out of it!"

"She can't hear you! Her body is becoming un-winged which means eradicating all traces of a human's DNA. This leaves her body frozen and unable to move or even think."

Suddenly Miya's wings disappear back into her body and she falls into Ed's waiting arms. He lowers himself to the ground and cradles Miya in his lap. He holds her tight and strokes her hair.

"Wake up. Come on Miya. I can't lose you." He starts to cry.

'What is this? Miya's connection with him should have been severed. He shouldn't feel anything for her now.'

"Why can't I win? Why can't I have you?" she cries to herself. She hangs her head and lets the tears flow.

"Didn't I tell you we had a connection deeper than every Sekirei? Do you think that our bond can be broken so easily?"

Hotaru's head snaps up. Miya is looking at her with very cold eyes from Ed's lap.

"Miya your ok! Thank whatever god there is. Don't you ever scare me like that again." Ed holds her even tighter. Tears are threatening to spill.

Miya puts her arms around him and pulls him into a very passionate kiss.

They kiss right in front of her, again. Rage fills her and her hair silver. She speeds up the wind around her, chipping away at her concrete prison. With a surge she obliterates her restraints. Ed and Miya don't even break apart they are so wrapped up in each other (literally).

Hotaru gathers the wind at her right hand and forms a blade (similar to Kaze no Tachi that Kazahana does, but more of a broad sword. It is thicker and shorter). She then runs at the pair and swings her sword in a strike that will kill both of them. As her blade descends, she closes her eyes in shame and guilt.

Suddenly her blade stops. Her eyes fly open to see Ed's right hand holding back the wind blade. He still hadn't broken contact with Miya but his hand still managed to find and stop her blade without looking.

Ed finally breaks the kiss. He pushes Hotaru's blade back and sends a concrete pillar into her stomach. Hotaru soars back through the air about 20 feet and drops to her knees, gasping for air.

Ed looks down at Miya. He caresses her face. "Let me take this one. You have fought enough today."

"But you injured as well. Your face is all bloody and gashed."

"Haihane's doing. And thanks. Without your shockwave I wouldn't be able to hold you again. And yes, while I am injured you are more so." To make his point, he gently touches her ribs, just enough to make her remember her injuries. "Let me protect you this time."

Miya is speechless, but she just smiles and kisses him lightly. "You know you can't die either, right?"

Ed scoffs indignantly. "You assume that I have a choice in dying. You forget that there is a certain someone who won't let me die."

Ed gently lifts Miya off his lap and after getting up, helps her up too. He helps Miya to a broken piece of concrete and sets her down so she can watch. "Just sit tight. We can dress you wounds in a second."

Ed turns around and finds Hotaru rushing him. She jumps and swings her blade down in an overhead strike. Ed blocks with his metal arm and spins around and back fists her as he lands. It stuns her and forces her back a few steps.

"If I beat you, will you let off and accept that you lost? You continue to press and you are only alienating yourself. I would like to be friends, but that can't happen if you continue to act as you are."

Hotaru hits the ground to dodge a sick kick and rolls away from an axe kick. She slashes upward as she jumps to her feet. Blood flies as she gets Ed right across the chest. Ed stumbles back and feels the fresh wound. It is shallow and long, but he doesn't care.

Changing her color to gold, she snaps her fingers and let's lose a bolt of electricity. Ed manages to dodge it. She lets several more lose and one just grazes Ed, shocking him. He does a one handed front spring and charges Hotaru. He takes a piece of Rebar and transmutes it into a combat knife. He rushes past her and slashes through the top of the glove. He then plants his hands on the ground and breaks a water main below them. Water gushes out of the main and blankets the entire area in water.

"How did you know?"

"I know a person back from where I come from that uses the same kind of glove. When the glove is wet, it loses its friction and ability to creak sparks."

She changes back to wind. The water loses pressure and retreats back under ground. She charges again, but Ed holds his ground. He waits and feints a right punch then reverses into a sweep that catches her off guard. She does a back spring to recover and put some distance between them.

"I see this is going to take a little effort."

Ed slams his hands into the ground. The ground glows blue. Hotaru shields her eyes. When she opens them she finds 20 stone/concrete puppets walking towards her, stone swords at the ready. While they are stiff and cannot move all that fast, the sheer number is enough to make her worry. She charges the nearest one and in a flash, she takes a swipe at it with her sword.

As she expected, it doesn't have any effect. Now dodging attacks from every angle, she changes tactics. Her hair and eyes changes to a deep blue. Gathering water around her, she starts hopping around on top of each golem, making them hit each other. Once a sufficient number of them are hit and cracked, she uses her water and makes it rain over them. All the while, she doesn't notice Ed sitting by Miya watching her fight.

"Are you sure she is going to be ok?" Miya asks. Her arms wrapped through his right arm.

"Yeah, I know what she is doing. She'll be fine. I only did this to tire her out." Ed rests his head on hers.

Miya turns her attention back to Hotaru. Her hair has turned to red and with a snap (all the jumping and spinning had dried out the tips of the gloves) the entire area around the golems erupts into flame. The golems however are unaffected. They keep in attacking and Hotaru keeps dodging. Then it happened.

One golem explodes in a shower of shrapnel. Then another one. Soon, the golems are all exploding, leaving a very winded Hotaru. She looks around for her opponent, but can't find him in the steam filled air.

"Well, I guess I have to get back up. Don't move my love."

"Wouldn't dream of it." She gives him one last kiss for good luck before he walks off to her, hands in pockets.

She sees him stroll up to her through the steam looking very casual with his hands in his pockets. She narrows her eyes at the insult.

"Good job. You went through them faster than I thought you would. Ingenious way of dealing with them. Cracking them, and then filling them up with water. Then you heated that water into steam, which made the golems explode. Very nice. Do you want to keep fighting because I still have plenty left and you look like you're about to collapse."

"No. I won't fight you. But that doesn't mean I will let her live!" Ed doesn't even turn around when Hotaru flashes by him right at Miya. In a flash of light, her fire sword slices Miya in half.

"There it is done. Now we can be together." Hotaru turns around to see Ed looking away from her.

"Are you sure? Take another look."

When Hotaru looks back, all she sees is a perfect stone replication of Miya, from hair color to her injuries.

"I had a feeling that you would do something like that. You're too predictable. Give up now before you end up hurt even more. And did you think that Miya wouldn't even raise a sword to block you? You aren't that fast." Hotaru has tears in her eyes.

She weakly charges Ed, sword held high. Ed just sidesteps her as Hotaru weakly, very weakly swings at him. She collapses to the ground in tears.

"Why? Why is Miya that much better than me?" Hotaru says through defeated tone of voice. Tears run unchecked down her face and soak the concrete below her.

Ed sighs. "It's not why she is better than you. There is nothing wrong with you. Miya and I just fit. Like two pieces of a puzzle. We just understand each other and our strengths complement each other's weaknesses. Even if she wasn't my Sekirei, I would still have married her. You are a great woman and someday you will make someone very happy. Buy I am not that person. Yes, I could have been, but that is not a possibility now."

Despite all his instincts, he goes and wraps an arm around her. Hotaru freezes.

"I don't want you to die. However if you keep on this destructive path, then someone will end up dead." Hotaru breaks down. She spins around and hugs Ed with all that she can.

Miya walks up to where Ed and Hotaru are embracing. She also wraps her arms around Hotaru.

"I'll always care about you, but only as a friend. You have to move on. Use your legs, keep moving forward. Only then can you find the happiness that I wasn't able to give you."

This only causes more tears. Miya takes a bit of her uniform and tears it off. She hands it to Hotaru who gratefully accepts it and wipes her eyes with it.

"Did we miss something?"

They all turn around to find Homura hand in hand with Takami with Minaka slung over his shoulder.

"I guess we can now go home."

"Not quite. Ed, there is something that I need your help with." Ed follows her pointed finger to the MBI building.

**

* * *

**

Back at the park, Shiina wakes up. He looks to find Yukari's face right over his with a very concerned look on her face.

"Shiina, are you ok? You didn't have any perverted dreams about guys did you?"

"What happened?" He sits up.

"I can only guess that the reset went off. I guess Oni-chan was able to do after all." She turns away and her eyes find the ground. "Do you want me to kiss you? I understand if you don't."

He grabs her wrist and forces her to turn to him.

"I would never want that. You are my Ashikabi, my Destined One. Nothing could keep me from wanting to kiss you."

They move closer and closer until their lips finally touch. It isn't a short one like the first one, but like the one Kazahana had with Minato on the bridge. As they kiss, Shiina's wings emerge. Once broken, the wings are now mended, the connection reestablished. Once the wings withdraw, they break the kiss and look around the park.

All of the Sekirei are starting to wake up and wonder what happened. But their Ashikabi weren't told about this, so they have no idea. They look around until they find Asami and her ex-Ashikabi. He holds her and is slapping her cheek, trying to get her to wake up.

Standing right behind them is Yashima. She casts a shadow over the two just as Asami is waking up. Asami's eyes go wide as the sun is right behind Yashima's head, causing her to appear completely wrapped in darkness and it scares the shit out of her. She bounds up, trying to get away from Yashima.

"What happened to all that arrogance?" Yashima walks towards her calmly, hammer slung over her shoulder.

"You… you should be disabled. MBI should be here by now to take you away."

"Yeah, about that. Take a look at MBI." She points using the heavy end of her hammer. Asami follows her hammer. It doesn't even quiver. When her eyes find the MBI building, all she sees is smoke rising from it.

"MBI is finished. As so is their main base. Next on the list is Kamikura Island. But MBI is done for. Number 1 saw to that." All eyes around her go wide with that statement. They had been told a powerful Sekirei would be helping them, but they didn't know it was number 1.

"Now, about your little stunt back there. Why don't we see just who is the better Sekirei, now that we are on even footing." Yashima dashes toward Asami. A crater appears where Asami had stood not a second ago.

'Damn, she's fast. When did she get this good? MBI said she has a power rating of only 50. Mine is 80, so how is surpassing even me?'

"My my, isn't someone trying hard? Tell me, where did you learn to use a hammer like that?"

"I was training with a hammer twice as heavy for a month while living with #1. She is a very good instructor and with 6 of the top 9 living in the same place, you never run out of challenging opponents. Now, let's see how you fare."

Yashima raises her hammer. "Tsuchi Shokku_Xeibu!" (Shockwave Hammer). She smashes it into the ground and the ground rumples out in a circle from the impact point. Asami is stunned as the raised ground reaches her. It sends her flying into a swing and ends up getting wrapped up in the chains of several swings..

"Looks like you're a little tied up at the moment. Let's see if we can't correct that."

Yashima begins to walk toward Asami, who starts to struggle to get free of the chains. Her Ashikabi too frightened to move. Asami struggles more with the chains and looks up. Two words come to her mind.

Oh Shit. Yashima winds up and hits her like hitting a baseball. She watches as Asami flies into far right field.

"It's going, it's going, it's GONE! THE RANGERS WIN THE WORLD SERIES! THE RANGERS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!" an announcer shouts into the microphone. (I wish, but that didn't happen this year)

Yashima looks back at Asami's Ashikabi. "If you want her, I suggest you go and get her before some else claims her. Let's go find Miya and the others. Were done here." She starts to walk off in the direction of the MBI tower.

"Wait, Yashima! I thought we were supposed to fight other Sekirei here on behalf of MBI?" Yukari asks while running to catch up.

"Yeah, we were, but with the state that MBI tower is in, I doubt they will be coming. MBI's sign of power is in flames and dying. No one will come to save it."

Yukari looks at Shiina who just shrugs and they silently follow Yashima through the city.

**

* * *

**

"Momma Tiger, this is Baby Tiger, come in."

A female voice answers the challenge. "This is Momma Tiger. Did you catch anything interesting?"

"Not a single damn thing. Damn technology has us chasing ghosts. We are on approach. Requesting permission to enter base."

A smile. "Permission granted. The South Gate is opening now. Sleep well. Momma Tiger out."

**

* * *

**

Out of his hiding spot, Minato looks down to spot the convoy entering the base. He was informed by Matsu a few minutes ago that the convoy was approaching from the South Gate. He prepares to give the signal.

The convoy stops just below him. He looks over to the side of the catwalk where Tsukiumi is wait. He nods at her. She closes her eyes and below them, screams of surprise can be heard. Snakes made of water pick up and toss the cars around like toys. Minato steps into view.

"You are surrounded. Give up and there will be no need for violence. As you can see, our powers greatly out do yours. Drop your weapons, all of them and form a single line with your hands over your heads and someone will be by to frisk you. You have 2 minutes to decide."

Minato goes back over the side of the catwalk to Tsukiumi. She looks downtrodden.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing." She turns away from him. He sighs. Now he knows something is wrong.

"I know there is something wrong. I can feel what you are feeling. Ever sense the incident in the ship, you have been quiet, withdrawn. You can talk to me."

She looks at him. She turns and hugs him tightly, tears running from her eyes.

"I don't want to lose you. I always seem to take a back seat to the others. And in the ship, I almost caused the entire plan to derail because I wanted to fight the others. I just feel like I'm losing you to the others."

He takes a hand under her chin and raises it. He then kisses her. Her wings appear and blue flashes all around them.

"I can't choose one over the other. You are as important to me as everyone else. No one takes more priority than someone else. I love you all equally. Even Ku-chan. So you won't lose me. Just be yourself. I can't any more than that."

She has never known Minato to speak like that, much less admit he loves them. She melts into his arms again and kisses him with fervor. He kisses her back with the same passion.

"Mina-tan, as glad as I am to hear that you love us, there is another matter we have to attend to."

"Rodger that Mats-san. Standby." He imagines Matsu with an enormous perverted grin on her face in the control room.

He gets up, despite Tsukiumi's objections. He walks back to the edge of the catwalk.

"Have you made your decision yet?"

The commander of the convoy looks up to him.

"What assurances do we have?"

"Food, water, you won't be armed or interrogated, and you get to keep your life."

"Acceptable. Men stand down. Drop all weapons include side arms and any ordinance."

The men in his convoy look back and forth to each other in disbelief. But when they remember the snake, they decide it is for the better. They take off all gear and weapons and line up as instructed. A few minutes later, Uzume comes in with her usual veiled outfit and frisks the men there, mush to their delight.

One makes a cat call at her and she hits him completely out of the line and into a building. The soldier slumps to the ground in a heap.

"The result will be the same to anyone who does that again. Any takers?" The crowd is silent as they all value their lives.

**

* * *

**

Miya and Ed stand in front of the MBI tower.

"Ed I need your help. Come here."

"As you wish." Ed comes up to her and she kisses him passionately.

When her wings flare up she breaks the kiss, despite the fact that she doesn't want to.

"Stand back, this could get messy." Ed and the rest of the group walk around to the other side of the building and back up a few hundred yards away. She takes a wide stance. Her aura around here is a visible purple.

"Sword of my promise, Obliterate the enemies of my Ashikabi!"

"Zantetsuken!" (Iron-cutting Sword, also a FF reference :P)

She takes her sword and starts to run. Suddenly she disappears and reapers right in front of Ed, who catches her. He feels her trembling slightly from exertion and lowers the both of them down to the ground with her and holds her while they watch the building.

The tower looks like nothing happened to it, but lines start appearing all over it. Cuts made so fast and strong that the metal didn't even react to getting severed until gravity took effect. Ed looks higher and sees cuts all the way to the upper floors.

'She was able to go into the air and cut the building from several angles in less time than it takes to blink. Remind me not to make you angry.'

The building is now really coming down. Section after section slides off the top and crushes everything underneath it. Ed thinks he spots something jump out of one on the top floors, but it quickly vanishes and Ed doesn't think anything of it. He looks down and finds Miya sleeping peacefully. He strokes her cheek and she grabs his hand out of instinct in her sleep.

* * *

End Chapter 16


	17. Chapter 17: Epilgue

**Epilogue**

Ed and Miya are sitting together on a new couch in their new home. Ed looks around the room. Chiho and Uzume are on another couch, Uzume's arms wrapped around her, and Takami and Kagari on a loveseat.

"So when is Minato expected to return?" Chiho asks Takami.

"Well, they took Kamikura Island easily. After they settle things down, they should be back here in a couple of days later."

"Good. I would like to meet all of Uzume's family. Having to be in a hospital the entire time makes for some bad scenery and even worse company as everyone want to poke and prod you with instruments." Uzume rubs her hand comfortingly.

"I must say that your treatment went extremely well. With the treatment data I got off of the MBI database, I wasn't sure if it would work, but it looks like you beat the odds."

Chiho smiles. "I love the house Mr. and Mrs. Elric. It looks brand new."

Ed smiles. "Please, call us Ed and Miya. Saying that makes me feel old. And it is. During the attack a couple of months ago, our house was destroyed. So it only seemed fitting that with the money Takami put into our accounts from MBI plus the insurance money that we build another Inn. Feel free to stay here as long as you like. A friend of Uzume's is a friend of ours."

The new Inn is double the size of their old one. With the destruction all around the city, they were easily able to buy a large plot of land. The new Inn also has a gym built in and a sauna, a pool, a hot tub, and two huge washrooms. The kitchen has all new appliances. They had a huge 60" TV with surround sound and a movie room. They spared no expense since they really had no limit.

**

* * *

**

"How can they do that? That goes against the laws of physics!" Ed exclaims at the TV. It is hooked up to Matsu's computers and it is streaming anime which everyone is watching/reading (for manga).

"I don't know. What if find disturbing is that they are for the most part middle school kids, especially the fat one. And the adults. Do they even work? How do they keep a roof over their head?" Uzume comments.

"I like the romance part. I think it is just exquisite how she likes him and he likes her, and even though they can't be together she tries anyways." Kazahana puts in her two cents while literally laying her immense bosom on Minato's back, making him blush.

"That doesn't surprise me. You always have been a stickler for the mushy stuff." Takami chides Kazahana.

"I can't help it! I think it is the best thing in the world when two people find love, even at such a young age." She leaves the realm of the sane and goes off into her own world muttering things about love and adorable.

"What I want to know is how the regalia are supposed to work. It is physically impossible to produce a shockwave like that with your foot and not be a Sekirei. And how do they maneuver in the air like that? Even with a micro motor, the power and acceleration needed to produce such speeds and a short time would are astronomical. And what that "Kazu" guy did on the rail was damn impossible. His nose was an inch from the rail which would decrease the available weight available to press down and make the motor go faster, but it increased it instead. It should be impossible, even for the anime's standards."

"Ed-tan, your forgetting the rules of anime. They differ from the laws of the real world. Like in Aquarion when a guy who knows nothing about the mech is able to pilot is with no trouble. Remember it is Law #28 Law of Technological User-Benevolence: the formal training required to operate a spaceship or mecha is inversely proportional to its complexity. And don't forget about #44- Law of Nominative Clamovocation: the likelihood of success and damage done by a martial arts attack is directly proportional to the volume at which the full name of the attack is announced (known as the Kamehameha effect).

"These rules cannot be disregarded and are used in almost every anime."

**

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**

Ed undresses Miya. As he removes her chihaya jacket, he sees her bandages are wet.

"Have you been in the gym lately?" he looks up at her.

"No, why?" A playful smile on her face.

"Miya, you have to take it or you won't heal right. Come on, let's change your bandages, they are absolutely soaked."

"Maybe that was the point. It has been a while since we practiced."

Ed sighs. "The only thing keeping me from jumping you is the wet bandages, the doctor's orders, and the fact that your ribs haven't quite healed right."

Ed changes her in their room and afterwards, Miya changes the bandages across his chest. With fresh bandages they exit their room. They find Uzume and Chiho making out on a couch. Not wanting to spoil the moment, they slip past them to the kitchen.

Ed whispers into Miya's ear.

"Would it be wrong of me to say that was one of the hottest things I've ever seen?" He tries to jump away, but doesn't make it as she hits him on the arm.

Ed switches on the news as Miya prepares lunch.

"In related news, CEO and founder of MBI, Hiroto Minaka has been found guilty by a Grand Jury. Several of the convictions include destruction of government property and attempted murder. He is expected to get the maximum sentence of 30 years. The Grand Jury has also ordered the complete liquidation of all MBI stocks and assets.

"Meanwhile, clean up efforts are still underway. Several gas and water mains, a power station, 110 cars, and 43 building including the MBI tower were destroyed in the terrorist attack last month. Authorities are still looking for the group responsible. Any tips can be directed to the number below. They are assumed armed and dangerous. " Ed turns the TV off with a chuckle. They have no idea.

"I'm glad Homura decided not to kill him. He made the right choice."

"Me too."

"Oh that reminds me. What happened to Karasuba?"

Miya looks at him. "She came by earlier. She is still pretty injured, but she is recovering nicely. She said she is going to travel once she is well enough. I think it is good for her. She needs to see the real world."

"Morning everyone!" A red mound bounces down the stairs loudly. Hotaru spots Uzume and Chiho on the couch.

"Get a room you two!"

Uzume looks up.

"Damn interruptions." She mutters to herself, getting a giggle from Chiho.

A sly look comes over her face. She looks back to Chiho under her.

"You know, that might not be a bad idea." Uzume grabs Chiho's hand and almost drags her up the stairs.

Hotaru shakes her head. She continues into the kitchen where she sits down and watches Miya make lunch.

"Hey Miya, is it ok if I have someone come over for lunch?"

"Of course, the more people the better. It has been rather quiet around here without Minato and the others. May I ask who?"

"A guy. His name is Ouri Kagami. He is a monk and I think I like him. I don't know. He hangs around this weird girl. I think her name is Makina or something like that. She smells weird. She never leaves him. So there might be two people."

Miya gives a nod and turns to Ed.

"Ed dear, would you go and remind Uzume that illicit actions are forbidden in Izumo Inn?"

"I hope our illicit actions are allowed." This causes Hotaru to massively blush and she storm out of the kitchen mumbling something about sex crazed maniacs.

**

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**

Later that evening Ed and Miya sit outside. Ed wraps his arms around her and breathes in her smell.

"Could this get anymore perfect? Setting sun, warm wind, and best of all you."

"How smooth. You get better every time. By the time your 80 you should have perfected it."

He mocks insult.

"Then how is this?"

He tickles her. In a few seconds, Ed has her squirming and laughing in his lap as she tries to fight back.

"Stop it Ed!"

"Never. Not until you surrender!"

He keeps at it. After a few minutes, she gives in by claiming his lips with hers.

In that instance, Ed realizes something. This is the happiest he has ever been. He has never been this content with someone before, not even Al or Winry. He snakes his arms around her torso and holds her tight.

"Don't ever leave me."

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End Epilogue

**End Comments**

I didn't outline, plan, or write down anything for any chapters in advance. I made up the story as I went along and hopefully that makes the story tell the story instead of me trying to tell a story that doesn't have what a good story has.

If you picked up on Ed knowing things that he never learned, that was the point. I intentionally left that unresolved for the sequel.

Ed: I really wanted him to grow up in this story. Worry less about what others think of him and do what is necessary, like taking care of Miya. I know that people always pair up Winry and Ed (my personal favorite couple in FMA alone) but I wanted to explore Ed in an environment he knows nothing about. Also, I had Ed be an emotional pillar for Miya to show how much me means to her and how close they are, also signs of a maturing Ed.

Miya: she is a special case. It isn't clear if she was winged by Takehito or not, so I'm going with not. I went with the approach that pure Sekirei have only one true Ashikabi and cannot be forced into winging and that MBI changed that.

Miya and Ed: Some people have said that their relationship advanced way to fast. I agree, but here is an explanation of why it happened like that. With the previous explanation of my take on the alterations, it also shows that Ed was Miya's one and only true soul mate. Sekirei establish bonds quicker than normal people. My take is that when they find their true Ashikabi, then it develops much faster than normal. It may not make sense, but that is a possible explanation.

Chapter 3: I didn't include Moy in the count because MBI doesn't keep track of her because they can't force her to anything. And someone erased all data on her, so she isn't in the system to begin with and that's where Matsu gets the counts from. I'm making it so Matsu didn't know that Miya wasn't winged by Takehito.

Chapter 5: I always thought of Minaka as on the border of criminally insane. I literally made him out to be a nutter. I also gave him C4 for people to ask, "Who in their right mind would gave that man C4?"and "How did he get C4?"Also having act totally insane gives a reason to have Miya get involved. She said she would fight and kill Minaka in the anime, so convenient when he kidnaps Ed, to whom she is reacting.

Chapter 9: To HiddenMaster- Thanks for the review. I had already finished writing this chapter with the return of Minaka in before you submitted your review, so there was no worry about implementing your suggestion.

Chapter 10: I didn't want Uzume to be defeated. I was torn between having her bring her Ashikabi with mobile medical equipment to the Inn and having her get defeated. I know I'm an optimist and I don't like to see the cheating bastards win, but I felt the story needed it, so I wrote it. Wasn't too happy about it, but it is in the history books.

Chapter 11: totally didn't plan to have a lemon scene here, but it just worked out that way. I also wanted to use aircraft aluminum for the support for the tunnel, but I couldn't find a reasonable reason to have Scandium (a very rare earth metal) to be in the amount needed to construct aircraft aluminum so I went with brass as those elements are zinc and copper and are usually in high enough quantities in the soil for it too work.

Chapter 12: Sorry for the long delay, I was talking a break and reading the manga scripts. I thought of having both briefings in the story, but I realized that the Ashikabi version would just be the Sekirei version, just abbreviated with less detail.

*tops worn by Miya and Musubi I think are called a chihaya jacket. This is the only thing in could find on the name of the top. If someone knows for sure, please tell me. Couldn't find a page with official info on it.

Chapter 13: didn't take me long to write this one. Wraps up Yashima's story and now she is a stronger person for dealing with her Ashikabi with no regrets as she gave him a second chance which is more than I would have given him.

Chapter 15: Here is it, the big showdown that everyone has been waiting for. I hope it is to everyone's satisfaction.

* A hakama is a traditional clothing item usually worn over a kimono. It is tied at the waist and falls to about the ankles. While women in the past wore hakamas only to formal event, Miya breaks with tradition by wearing one every day. Wikipedia it or Google it.

Epilogue: There. Finally done. After 2 months of work it is finished. I did not come up with the Laws of Anime. I don't know who did.

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**Sources:**

Wikipedia

Random pages from Google Search for names of highways, gardens, swords, elements, pretty much anything that I didn't know off the top of my head that I wanted to as accurate as possible

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Final word count:54,759 words (micosoft word version. fanfiction counts differently)

Total Page count: 125 including end comments with font as Calbri at 11.

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End Notes

Don't forget to review! I would love to know how I did on my first story. Please be as specific as you can, it will help out in the future. Also, i am going to write a squeal. I am open to suggestions as to how to proceed. I already have a direction set, but willing to put in ideas from fans. Thanks and have some happy holidays and be safe!


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